Online reviews are an integral part of our lives these days, and often the closest thing to actually experiencing a product or service before making a purchase. It is no surprise that positive reviews of a product can increase sales and negative reviews can decrease sales, however, how do consumers actually view these online product reviews? Information from a 2013 Maritz Research study helps us to answer this question. The study was based on an online panel of 3,404 people who answered questions about their use of sites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, OpenTable, and more.
- 60% of survey respondents say they pay more attention to customer comments than numerical or star ratings
- Men are more skeptical of rating site information, 73% saying they think the information is a generally fair representation, compared with 78% of women who think so
- Younger users tend to be more skeptical of the review information as opposed to older users
Online reviews play a pivotal role in how consumers are finding your business on the internet. Consumers say their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews, and this number has only been increasing over time. Does your company request online reviews from your customers?
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