{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "word-of-mouth-13-percent-sales-6-trillion",
  "slug": "word-of-mouth-13-percent-sales-6-trillion",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/word-of-mouth-13-percent-sales-6-trillion/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/word-of-mouth-13-percent-sales-6-trillion.json",
  "claim": "Word of mouth drives 13% of consumer sales ($6 trillion)",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"Word of mouth drives $6 trillion of annual consumer spending\"",
  "verdict": "outdated",
  "verdict_definition": "Source found and quoted correctly, but old enough that the market has changed.",
  "confidence": "medium",
  "rating": {
    "value": 3,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), analysis by Analytic Partners",
    "title": "Return on Word of Mouth (press release, 18 Nov 2014)",
    "year": "2014"
  },
  "quote": "online and offline consumer conversations and recommendations account for 13% of consumer sales, on average, which represents $6 trillion in annual consumer spending.",
  "method": "Econometric modeling of confidential sales data from sponsoring brands in six categories; the $6 trillion extrapolates the 13% average to all US consumer spending.",
  "drift": [
    "Scope: an average across a few sponsor brands extrapolated to the whole economy",
    "Date: 12 years old"
  ],
  "interest": "Funded by brand and agency sponsors; WOMMA is a word-of-mouth trade body.",
  "safe_rephrasing": "A 2014 WOMMA-sponsored model of six categories estimated word of mouth drove about 13% of sales for participating brands.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "PR Newswire: WOMMA study release (2014)",
      "url": "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/landmark-study-shows-word-of-mouth-drives-13-of-consumer-sales-283040971.html",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "stat_check",
  "as_of": "2014",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}