[brk]

Just as another anecdata point, I'm in the 'people really do that.' group.

When I'm researching something to buy, I will usually do searches on google for broad scope brands/products, then move to Amazon as my first option for purchase, provided the item is available there and within a few % of the lowest online price I've seen elsewhere.

My research may include reading blogs/forums, and possible asking questions there. If its not something too esoteric, I might ask my FB friends for an opinion or suggestion.

At no point in my normal buying processes does FB ads, or 'Likes' play any role.

My wife follows roughly the same pattern, but may be partially influenced by my approach, though I will say her methods differ slightly enough that they are her own.