The majority of people search the web for videos relevant to a particular product or service before they decide to buy it online, according to a report from Speedie Consultants.

Of those questioned, 72 per cent said that they took advantage of sites like YouTube to look up clips and used these to inform their purchasing decisions. And the power of the likes of video reviews, unboxings and official branded AV content is clearly increasing, as it becomes easier to watch and stream to mobile devices.

In terms of which research methods are most commonly used, just six per cent of the male respondents to the study said that they would ever head directly to the official site operated by a particular product maker. Instead most would choose to go directly to YouTube to find videos about relevant items, or head to Facebook to do the same.

Interestingly, this is not quite as universally popular with women, as 23 per cent said that they would generally choose an official site over third party video content.

Video’s rise to prominence in the e-commerce market has been fuelled in part because Facebook has thoroughly embraced it in recent years and the newsfeeds of its users now play host to more clips than ever before. This is not just down to friends sharing viral videos, but also brands paying for a sponsored presence on this platform.

Videos can certainly be a great way to see a product in action without having to get hold of it in person. And there are many well-respected channels on YouTube, in particular, which can be relied upon to deliver accurate reviews, but it also pays to research thoroughly and draw upon a number of sources before making a decision to buy it via safe shopping online.