Consumers are increasingly relying on the internet even more so than friends and family when it comes to searching for the best purchasing solutions and other general information, an influential new survey has found.

The survey, the 2012 Digital Influence Index, carried out by research organisation, Harris Interactive, looked at internet usage across nine countries, including the UK, the US, China, Germany and Japan.

In some countries, such as the US, the internet shared the same level of influence as family and friends. In others, however, such as China, whilst many respondents consulted both sources for information, the overall leaning was found to favour the internet: 79% against 70% in China specifically; and 79% against 60% in India.

The survey also found that 42% of respondents have chosen to follow either a brand or a friend on a social media site; with 79% claiming their reason for doing was to understand more about the brand.

Among the social media sites chosen to obtain brand or product details, Facebook was accessed for this purpose by almost 20% of those surveyed.

In terms of how consumers access the internet, the survey identified a shift away from desktop PCs and laptops; with around 66% of respondents using a mobile phone or smartphone to go online for information on at least three or four occasions each week.

One other significant finding from the survey was that search engines were used by 89% of respondents when making purchasing decisions.