Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#1

Post by sharkweek » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:24 PM UTC

Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago
reviews.com

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#2

Post by JustSomeNobody » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:47 PM UTC

So, at what point does this become a problem for Amazon (for example)? They _seem_ to not care.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#3

Post by quxbar » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

The other 60% are simply not paying attention.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#4

Post by 99_00 » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

Every product I order from Amazon from a Chinese brand has an offer for a free 'gift' for leaving a good review.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#5

Post by dragontamer » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #2

So, at what point does this become a problem for Amazon (for example)? They _seem_ to not care.

AmazonBasics seems like a way to build brand-name recognition in the face of untrusted online reviews.

Clearly Amazon cares. Not enough to fix the problem, but enough to build a new brand of white-label goods. If anything, untrusted reviews is to the benefit of the AmazonBasics brand.

--------

Amazon Reviews are a benefit to the 3rd party marketplace, more so than anything else. Buying non-branded goods from unknown (or nearly unknown) brands. I'm not entirely sure to see how, or why, untrusted Amazon reviews is Amazons' problem.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#6

Post by TinyRick » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:49 PM UTC

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #2

So, at what point does this become a problem for Amazon (for example)? They _seem_ to not care.

When it affects their bottom line. Consumers largely _seem_ to not care either, and continue buying from Amazon.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#7

Post by everdrive » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

As well they should.

This is a game of cat and mouse. Consumers were ahead for a little while, but companies have really gotten a grasp on the internet, and they're winning the information war.

It's no mistake that I've come to rely on brand name again. It's the best heuristic available to me. When all this first started (mid-2000s) I was actively avoiding basing ANY decision on brand name. For a brief window, I had better information, but no more.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#8

Post by williesleg » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:51 PM UTC

Nothing is UL listed anymore. AI bots and Chinese and Indian cheap labor reviews are everywhere. Same with postings, even to hacker news. Hard to know what's human and what's not anymore.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#9

Post by duxup » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:52 PM UTC

99_00 wrote: post #4

Every product I order from Amazon from a Chinese brand has an offer for a free 'gift' for leaving a good review.

That and requests to delete my review in exchange for a refund.

Re: Almost 40% of U.S. Consumers Trust Online Reviews Less Than They Did 5 Years Ago

#10

Post by BitwiseFool » Tue, Mar 02, 2021, 5:56 PM UTC

I invite people to checkout BestBuy's online shop. Just about every single item has a rating from 4.0 to 4.8 out of 5. I have yet to see a single listing under 4 stars. There are of course, unrated items, but can you honestly believe that virutally every product they carry is nearly perfect? Who actually writes a 5 star review for a no-name brand of tape and cable ties?

When everything is perfect, nothing is, and I don't trust BestBuy's review system at all. I can't help but think there is some kind of false advertising law against fake reviews that they're breaking.