Product Image Rates High With Shoppers

CLEVELAND — What influences buying the most?

Company-product image word-of-mouth recommendation, and advertising in that order, according to a survey.

The survey by Sales Consultants International found that company-product image was the choice of 38.6% of respondents within the South Atlantic region.

Word-of-mouth recommendation, favored by 37.4% of respondents, drew strongest support from the South Central geographic area.

Advertising, the choice of 20.5% of respondents, had its biggest following in the Mid-Atlantic area. The remaining 3.5% had no opinion.