Nielsen’s latest Global Trust in Advertising report, which surveyed more than 28,000 Internet respondents in 56 countries, shows that 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family, followed closely by 70% trusting online reviews.

Here are the highlight stats. Read the great piece about it over on Social Commerce Today.

We’ve been in the reviews business for quite a few years so we’re not remotely surprised by this data. But our experience over the past 12 months is that small businesses are now realising the importance of reviews and adding customer reviews solutions to their sites and Facebook. This is as true in rural Ireland as it is in Del Mar California.

We’ve seen it growing year by year but the latest Nielsen research really drives it home. There is a great piece about it over on Computerworld.

Consumer reviews and personal recommendations are as important as trusted brand reviews for Internet consumers.

The Nielsen survey, the largest of its kind, shows that 90 percent of Internet consumers worldwide trust recommendations from people they know, while 70 percent trust consumer opinions posted online.