Customers that are able to connect with one another to ask questions about a potential purchase are up to 15 times more likely to buy, new research shows.

According to shopping-related UGC company TurnTo, 96% of customers using its Social Q&A platform – where shoppers can ask others questions about products – receive at least one social answer, and those asking questions are between 10 and 15 times more likely to make an eventual purchase as a result. Furthermore, those using Social Q&A report increased customer loyalty, with up to 40% going on to make a repeat purchase.

Interestingly, over half of users (56%) can expect an answer to their queries within two hours of asking – 41% within one hour – indicating that the platform serves as a quicker and more efficient service tool than many brands’ customer service accounts. Take a look: