EXCLUSIVE: Here’s how consumers find products and businesses
Consumers have a growing list of options for discovering products and businesses, but one method is the clear favorite.
Seven-in-10 (69%) U.S. adult consumers who participated in a new Hostinger survey exclusively released to Chain Store Age used Google or search to find a business in the past three months. Close to half (45%) used Google, more than five times any other search platform mentioned.
Other popular methods of business discovery include word of mouth (46%), maps and Facebook (33% each), Instagram (32%), and artificial intelligence assistants (28%). However, only 3% of respondents have used AI to discover a restaurant.
[READ MORE: How retailers can stay 'findable' as search goes agentic]
In addition, 65% of all respondents and 80% of Gen Z respondents have left Google for Reddit or TikTok because Google wasn’t helping, and 24% of all respondents have gone to Reddit when they wanted a “real person’s” take.
Gen Z findings
Gen Z respondents showed some behaviors that significantly differed from other responses, such as:
- One-in-five (19%) start a product search on TikTok, more than double the rate of all respondents. This rises to 38% of female Gen Z respondents.
- Two-in-three (66%) trust a business’s Reddit or TikTok reviews more than its website or Google reviews.
- Three-in-10 (29%) start a product search on social or video platforms, compared with just 4% of boomer respondents.
AI assistant trends
The survey also revealed a number of interesting findings regarding how shoppers are using AI assistants:
- Almost all (94%) respondents check another source before acting on an AI recommendation.
- More than nine-in-10 (93%) respondents have gotten a business recommendation from an AI assistant, including 96% of boomers and 88% of Gen Z.
- Among respondents who used both Google and an AI assistant to choose a business, 38% found Google more helpful, 26% found AI more helpful, and 36% found them about the same level of helpfulness.
- Three-in-10 respondents who used AI over Google did so because Google wasn’t surfacing the information they needed.
- Only 6% of respondents would book a business that an AI recommends without checking anything else.
Business websites
The survey indicates having a website is still an important part of drawing customers:
- More than eight-in-10 (87%) respondents have encountered a business website with details that were missing or didn’t line up, 32% chose a different business.
- Seven-in-10 respondents see a business as less legitimate when they can’t find its website, and 44% would likely choose a competitor.
- More than six-in-10 (62%) respondents almost always check the website of an unfamiliar business before choosing it.
Reasons respondents check a business website include:
- Prices or fees (67%).
- Product details (53%).
- Photos or examples (51%).
- Availability or hours (46%).
- Confirm it’s real (44%).
- Customer reviews (38%).
In October 2026, Hostinger surveyed 1,014 U.S. adults aged 18 and older about where they discover businesses online, where they start their search, and when they visit a business’s website before deciding.
