> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.promptthemarket.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Social Soup says friends beat paid ads six to one for new grocery buys - URL: https://www.promptthemarket.com/personal-recommendations-beat-paid-ads-six-to-one-in-fmcg-trial/ - Published: 2026-11-09T07:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-09T07:00:00.000Z - Description: The influence agency's survey of 850 Australians found 27 per cent of grocery buyers named another person as the biggest influence on their latest product trial and 4 per cent named advertising, with most word of mouth passed on in person. - Author: Editor News - Tags: Research, Australia, Social Soup, #author-james-dore, Press releases ![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg) By **James Dore** ยท 2026-11-09 TLDR Social Soup's survey of 850 Australians found personal recommendations drive more than six times as many grocery product trials as all paid advertising combined. Only 4% of main grocery buyers credited paid ads for their latest trial, against 27% who named another person. With Nielsen putting FMCG launch failure at 76% in year one, the gap gives suppliers a pointed argument for 2027 budget allocation. KEY TAKEAWAYS 01Only 4% of grocery buyers in Social Soup's survey credited paid advertising across all channels for their last product trial. 02Personal recommendations, creator content and reviews drove more than six times more trials than paid advertising combined. 0378% of product triers tell others about the item, reaching an average of 15.1 people, mostly face-to-face. 04Shoppers aged 18 to 34 were almost four times more likely than over-55s to name a creator as a trial influence. 05One in eight shoppers in household, personal care and health categories used an AI tool to inform a purchase decision. ## What 850 shoppers said Social Soup asked 850 Australian grocery buyers what drove their most recent product trial, and the answer most FMCG suppliers are not optimising for came out on top. 27% named another person as the biggest influence on their latest trial. 4% credited paid advertising across TV, social, digital and outdoor combined.[\[1\]](https://resources.socialsoup.com/fmcg-research-discover-try-share-social-soup?hs%5Fpreview=aTJblWwB-389198847463&ref=promptthemarket.com) Six to one, across every format a media buyer can book. Social Soup founder and CEO Sharyn Smith and Four Pillars Gin co-founder Matt Jones presented the findings at a Research Breakfast in Sydney on 5 November 2026. ## How trial actually travels 79% of main grocery buyers tried a new food, drink or household product in the past three months. 51% bought on the spot and 83% bought within a week.[\[1\]](https://resources.socialsoup.com/fmcg-research-discover-try-share-social-soup?hs%5Fpreview=aTJblWwB-389198847463&ref=promptthemarket.com) Get the product in front of the right person and conversion is fast. What happens after that first purchase is where the maths gets interesting. 78% of triers tell others, reaching an average of 15.1 people. 68% of those conversations happen in person and only 6% on social media.[\[1\]](https://resources.socialsoup.com/fmcg-research-discover-try-share-social-soup?hs%5Fpreview=aTJblWwB-389198847463&ref=promptthemarket.com) The advocacy chain runs mostly through kitchens and conversations, not feeds. Social Soup put the downstream effect at 62% of people who hear about a product from someone else going on to buy it.[\[5\]](https://mumbrella.com.au/personal-trumps-paid-says-social-soup-research-943736?ref=promptthemarket.com) Creator content follows a generational line. Shoppers aged 18 to 34 are almost four times as likely as those over 55 to name a creator as their biggest influence.[\[5\]](https://mumbrella.com.au/personal-trumps-paid-says-social-soup-research-943736?ref=promptthemarket.com) Over-45s skew toward in-store: 45% of that group rely more on what they see in store.[\[5\]](https://mumbrella.com.au/personal-trumps-paid-says-social-soup-research-943736?ref=promptthemarket.com) One in eight shoppers in household, personal care and health categories said they used an AI tool to inform a purchase decision, against one in 30 across all categories.[\[1\]](https://resources.socialsoup.com/fmcg-research-discover-try-share-social-soup?hs%5Fpreview=aTJblWwB-389198847463&ref=promptthemarket.com) ## What this means for Australian grocery suppliers Nielsen's data, cited by Social Soup, puts fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) launch failure at 76% in the first year.[\[1\]](https://resources.socialsoup.com/fmcg-research-discover-try-share-social-soup?hs%5Fpreview=aTJblWwB-389198847463&ref=promptthemarket.com) On that measure three in four new products fail in their first year. For a supplier sitting down to plan 2027, the question is whether launch dollars are going to the channel that actually moves the first unit. Social Soup has made a similar argument before. Its Community Shift research found 91% of Australians had bought something on a community recommendation, and 43% said they belonged to more communities than they did two years earlier.[\[3\]](https://socialsoup.com/the-community-shift-why-community-marketing-is-becoming-more-important-than-ever/?ref=promptthemarket.com) The November survey sharpens that general finding into category-level numbers with a named conversion rate. Sharyn Smith said the two biggest competitive advantages in the future will be creativity and community.[\[3\]](https://socialsoup.com/the-community-shift-why-community-marketing-is-becoming-more-important-than-ever/?ref=promptthemarket.com) For Coles and Woolworths suppliers under margin pressure from both chains, that is a budget reallocation argument backed by 850 grocery buyers and a six-to-one multiplier they can put in front of a CFO. Social Soup's earlier work on product sampling found sampling was named the single best way to discover a new product by 58% of respondents, well ahead of friend recommendations at 9%.[\[4\]](https://socialsoup.com/the-future-of-product-sampling/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Pair that with the 78% of triers who go on to tell an average of 15 people, and the arithmetic for designing trial to travel becomes fairly plain. SOURCES & CITATIONS 1. [Social Soup FMCG Research: Discover, Try, Share](https://resources.socialsoup.com/fmcg-research-discover-try-share-social-soup?hs%5Fpreview=aTJblWwB-389198847463&ref=promptthemarket.com) 2. [Social Soup LinkedIn, Research Breakfast announcement](https://ma.linkedin.com/company/socialsouphq?ref=promptthemarket.com) 3. [Social Soup: The Community Shift](https://socialsoup.com/the-community-shift-why-community-marketing-is-becoming-more-important-than-ever/?ref=promptthemarket.com) 4. [Social Soup: The Future of Product Sampling](https://socialsoup.com/the-future-of-product-sampling/?ref=promptthemarket.com) 5. [Mumbrella, Personal trumps paid, says Social Soup research](https://mumbrella.com.au/personal-trumps-paid-says-social-soup-research-943736?ref=promptthemarket.com) 6. [B&T, Friends, family and creators give paid ads a run for their money in FMCG trials](https://www.bandt.com.au/friends-family-creators-give-paid-ads-a-run-for-their-money-in-fmcg-trials/?ref=promptthemarket.com) ![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg) [James Dore](https://www.promptthemarket.com/james-dore/) James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.