Does Social Proof Still Work? What Software Buyers Really Think in 5 Stats

February 4, 2025
Contributor: Tom Cox

A product’s social proof is more powerful than ever in 2025. Here’s why, and how to make it work in your favor.

As buying experiences rapidly evolve with AI tools and shifts in online search, one thing remains constant: buyers rely on human experiences, written by human hands, to guide their decisions.

As part of our 2025 Software Buying Trends research, we surveyed 3,500 software buyers to measure the impact of social proof on their purchase decisions. Five key statistics reveal the impact of social proof in the buying journey, and how software providers can build their reputation, secure trust, and close more deals. 

1. Reputation makes or breaks your position on buying lists

Think about the last time you made a big purchase, such as a car or laptop. Which products immediately came to mind? 

Typically, a brand’s reputation will influence whether you considered them first – and software is no different. Reputation, or industry prominence, is the top factor that influences whether a product ends up being placed on a buyer’s ‘initial list’ of software options.

Products more present in the buying journey are building their reputation in the eyes of buyers. As Robert B. Cialdini writes in Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, “We don’t realize that our attitude toward something has been influenced by the number of times we have been exposed to it in the past.” With that in mind, what should you be using to get in front of prospects more often? 

It’s important to use a wide range of sources, but not all were made equal. Buyers who were more confident in their purchase decisions were more likely to be influenced by multiple sources of information, and cite customer reviews (42%), rankings of top software providers (34%), and references/testimonials (34%) more often than their less confident buyers. Customers who were ultimately regretful of at least one software purchase relied more often on factors such as word of mouth, advertisements, and social media. 

Looking to build on your reputation? Stay top of mind with a sponsored profile on Gartner Digital Markets. Already have a profile? Measure your product reputation with ‘Brand Views Share’ inside your Gartner Digital Markets account. This metric tracks the impressions your product receives on your categories compared to the total sum of your competitors. 


2. Social proof influences 90% of buyers comparing products

Once buyers build a list based on factors like reputation and previous experiences, they don’t immediately buy from it. In fact, 83% of buyers change their list at the following research stage.

To learn which information source had the biggest influence at this stage, we asked our 3,500 respondents to select up to five options. 90% of buyers said that some type of social proof – be it recommendations from experts, product review and comparison sites, or customer testimonials – influenced this critical research stage. 

But one resource stood consistently above the rest: customer reviews.

Software buyers say customer reviews are the number one source of information that influences decisions when they are researching and comparing products. By reading customer reviews, buyers learn the pros and cons of products from their peers, and whether the product matches their needs and use cases.

But stale reviews won’t cut it – to be more influential, reviews need to be recent. 92% of buyers say they are more likely to trust software user reviews written in the past year.


3. Large enterprises are more likely to use third-party information when evaluating software products

The larger a business is, the more importance its employees place on social proof before they make a purchase.

What does that mean for software marketers? If you’re looking to score the lucrative contract of a large organization, then sharing social proof throughout the buying experience is likely to have a bigger impact on the final purchase decision.  

These same buyers at large enterprises are also more likely to rely on product trials at the final stages of the buying journey to ensure they are making the right decision. This results in more confident purchases compared to smaller businesses. 

Collect customer reviews from a wide range of business sizes, job titles, and use cases, so buyers find reviews that compare with their company. Build a more persuasive narrative in your marketing collateral for prospects at large organizations by collecting reviews from enterprise customers.


4. A software company's website is still important, but review sites complete the picture

Once a product catches a buyer’s eye, where do they go to learn more information? Our research says: it depends what information they’re looking for.

Buyers are more likely to visit a vendor’s website if they’re looking for information about features, integrations, and pricing. But when it comes to customer satisfaction or ease of use, buyers head over to software review sites to get the complete picture.

What does this tell us? Both are necessary to the buying journey. Buyers may visit vendor sites to gather facts about a product, but they visit software review sites to know if a product works well or if a vendor follows through on their promises.

Additionally, we found that software buyers in the healthcare industry trust review sites more than the average for all factors listed, which makes sense onsidering the real human risk behind their purchase decisions.


5. Buyers regret purchases more when they use customer reviews less

Over half of companies surveyed experienced buying regret for a technology purchase in the last 18 months. The causes of regret don’t just impact buyers, but create issues for providers who need to work harder to stop unhappy customers from churning.

73% of those who are very likely to rely solely on vendor-provided information, such as content on the vendor’s website, ultimately report purchase regret. On the other hand, successful buyers (44%) are more likely to use product review and comparison sites than regretful buyers (29%).

Bringing buyers to your website is key to conversion. But educating them throughout the sales funnel using third-party information will boost confidence in their decision and decrease chances of a mismatch of expectations later down the line. 

Use your existing social proof assets like review quotes within your marketing funnel and sales collateral to clarify expectations with prospects. Don’t yet have a review profile on Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp? Get started here.


People still gravitate towards people

The software buying landscape may be rapidly evolving, but buyers still make decisions based on the experiences of other people.

But how can you take action to outrank competitors and get on the right side of a buyer decision?

  1. Buyers seek up-to-date information – and are likely to ignore products without it. Ensure your review profile is up to date.
  2. Buyers (especially from larger enterprises) look for third-party validation. Collect reviews to close the loop.
  3. Buyers pay attention to prominent industry names. Sponsor your profile to reach the top of your category.

In conclusion, no matter how the industry evolves, buyers will always rely on the support of other buyers to make more confident decisions.

Tom Cox

Tom is a senior content specialist who helps software providers better understand the market with insights from Gartner Digital Markets' network of software buyers and vendors. Since 2015, Tom has created content for a wide range of industries including education and online publishing. Tom writes about business writing, content, and creativity on Hunting the Muse.

Methodology

*Gartner Digital Markets’ 2025 Tech Trends Survey was conducted online in August 2024 among 3,500 respondents in the U.S. (n=700), U.K. (n=350), Canada (n=350), Australia (n=350), France (n=350), India (n=350), Germany (n=350), Brazil (n=350), and Japan (n=350), at businesses across multiple industries and company sizes (5 or more employees). The survey results were published in the 2025 Software Buying Trends Report.

The survey was designed to understand the timeline, organizational challenges, adoption & budget, vendor research behaviors, ROI expectations, and satisfaction levels for software buyers. Respondents were screened to ensure their involvement in business software purchasing decisions.
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