How do you decide what TV or movies to watch on services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime? According to Ampere’s Consumer data, more viewers than ever now trust the personalised suggestions offered by streaming platforms rather than the traditional favourite - recommendations from friends and family. Among global Internet users, 26% now rely on streamers’ algorithm picks to decide what TV and film to watch, versus 23% who rely on word-of-mouth recommendations.

This is especially true for younger subscribers and those with young children: 30% of viewers aged 25 to 34, and 31% of subscribers in households with young children, now rely on the platforms’ personalised recommendations. However, for Gen Z audiences social media is an even more important influence: globally, 31% of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed watch long-form content they’ve learned about on social media. This outscores preferred actors/celebrities (30%) and streaming service recommendations (27%).

Ampere’s global study (with 56,000 participants across 30 markets) also found key differences by country. 27% of US internet users, for example rely on algorithm recommendations, compared to 24% of users in Western Europe. But among Western markets, UK consumers score the highest on this metric, with 30% choosing streaming recommendations, while France and Italy are among the markets least likely to opt for this method, both at 19%. Positive reviews are an important influence in Italy (23%), while France still prefers word-of-mouth (25%). Affinity for algorithm picks also tends to be high among Internet users in emerging markets such China (30%) and India (30%).

Viewers do, of course, still take recommendations from friends and family, but overall they have become increasingly willing to rely on the streamers’ algorithms to select their next watch. By the same token, the fact that social media features so highly as a source of recommendations for younger consumers shows the significance of social platforms as part of the streaming marketing mix.