Oysterly Media has released research showing short tutorial and demo videos are the strongest purchase trigger for Australian consumers. The survey also found social media accounts for 29 per cent of product discovery.
The study, conducted with Oaktree Insights and Consulting, surveyed 1,200 Australians. When asked what content was most likely to lead to a purchase, respondents ranked how-to clips first, ahead of promotions and deals at 27 per cent and personalised recommendations at 22 per cent.
The findings suggest a shift in how consumers move from discovery to transaction. Social platforms now appear to play a bigger role than brand-owned websites at the start of that process, with only 11 per cent of respondents saying they begin product research on a brand website.
By contrast, 71 per cent said they discover new products on social media at least once a week. Social media drives 29 per cent of all product discovery, compared with 9 per cent for brand websites.
Social profiles are also playing a bigger role in purchasing decisions. In the past three months, 42 per cent of respondents said they had used a brand's social profile rather than its website to help decide what to buy.
That share was higher among younger consumers, rising to 57 per cent for Gen Z and 47 per cent for Millennials. The findings suggest social content and audience response now shape brand assessment for many shoppers before they reach a checkout page.
Changing role
Melissa Laurie, Chief Executive Officer of Oysterly Media, said the pattern showed the brand website had shifted from being the main source of early product information to a later-stage destination.
"Anyone who remembers Big Kev knows this playbook. He'd hold the product up, show you exactly what it did, and you believed him because you could see it working. Now it's back, living on TikTok and Instagram. The 30-second tutorial is 'Big Kev with a smartphone', and it is just as effective as it was then," Laurie said.
She said company-owned digital channels still matter in online retail, but their role has changed.
"The brand website still matters, but it is playing a different role than it used to. By the time many consumers land on it, the decision is essentially done. They have watched the tutorial, read the comments, and checked the brand's social profile. The website is where they complete the purchase. Companies selling online should stop trying to make their homepage do the heavy lifting and focus their energy on the feed instead," Laurie said.
The data suggests social media is increasingly functioning as both a discovery layer and a search tool. More than two-thirds of Australians now use social as a search tool at least once a week, according to the report, although another figure in the findings summary put the weekly share at 48 per cent.
By age group, Gen Z recorded the highest use of social search at 69 per cent, followed by Millennials at 60 per cent and Gen X at 38 per cent. The report also found one in six Gen Z and Millennial Australians now use social primarily for search rather than posting.
Search behaviour
That change has implications for how brands are found online. Consumers who once relied on search engines or went directly to a retailer's website are now using TikTok and Instagram to look for product information, reviews and demonstrations.
"Australians are typing search queries into TikTok and Instagram the same way they used to type them into Google Search. Social search has become the entry point for the consideration process, and brands with a strong, searchable presence in the feed are the ones getting found," Laurie said.
The research also indicates consumers are becoming more selective about what appears in their feeds. Seven in ten respondents said they wanted more control over the content they see, even if that meant seeing less new material.
In the past month, 31 per cent said they had tapped "not interested" on an advertisement, 29 per cent had unfollowed or muted accounts, 25 per cent had reduced notifications, and 24 per cent had cut time spent on a specific platform.
Those figures suggest visibility alone may not be enough to keep users engaged. Consumers are actively filtering content and appear more willing to remove commercial messages that do not offer immediate relevance or utility.
Laurie said practical content is better placed to hold attention in that environment. "More reach does not necessarily mean more attention. The tutorial format wins because it gives people something useful, and that is what makes them stop scrolling and watch," she said.