Before review platforms became a thing, dissatisfied online buyers had no one to complain to. They couldn’t reach out to retailers’ support staff because they were unavailable. Social media wasn’t big yet and mainstream media was cautious about covering online retail stores.
These days, you can easily make a review of any product online. Other buyers can view your comments and ask for clarification if they want to. For new buyers, reviews can be confusing.
Sometimes one person will comment that a specific phone is the best smartphone she’s ever bought. A different reviewer may offer a different opinion and call the phone trash and not worth buying. Which review do you trust? Here is how the world approaches product reviews and whether you should let them influence your buying decision.
84% of Buyers Trust Reviews
Research shows that 91% of online shoppers regularly read online reviews. 84% of them trust the reviews as much as they trust their friends. However, the number of people who make a buying decision immediately after reading a few reviews is lower: 68%.
Still, the data reveals an incredible trend in how online buyers make decisions. Buyers today trust reviews more than ever. The average buyer reads ten reviews before making the final decision. Reviews are as important on product websites as they are on service platforms like Insurance and law.
It is common to doubt reviews at times but they influence a lot of customers out there. And depending on the comments made by reviewers, you should take reviews seriously. Products with overwhelmingly negative reviews are often bad. Best-rated products tend to be quality-made.
Reviews are made by Buyers
Reviews are made by buyers like you. Similar to how you can leave a comment about a product or a service on social media, reviewers make similar comments on websites. Their remarks are based on personal experiences using specific products.
Satisfied customers often describe products positively. They make reviews to encourage other buyers to purchase the same products. Unhappy customers have the exact opposite intentions. They’ve used the product before and probably didn’t like it one bit.
Unlike regular advertising, reviews are more trustworthy because they come from people’s actual experiences with the product. Sometimes retailers pay customers to post positive reviews but the majority of shoppers make independent reviews.
Numbers Don’t Lie
You may have doubts about some of the product reviews you find online. But if a majority of the comments indicate the product is bad, it probably is. Such is the power of online reviews and why they are better indicators of a product’s quality than regular marketing.
Because reviews often reflect a true product’s quality, some retailers list their items based on best reviews. bestreviews.guide, for example, hunts the best-reviewed products on major retail stores. They then make better descriptions to help you get a clear image of the type of product to expect.
Reviews are Relatable
Online retailers make all sorts of adverts to relate their products to your personal experiences. They tweet about popular events and sponsor local sports activities. But nothing is more relatable to customers than learning from other shoppers’ experiences with the same product.
Listening to a customer’s experience using a type of sunscreen makes you paint a picture using the same product. Hearing how the product affected the person’s skins and the changes it made has a strong effect. If you learn the product didn’t help the reviewer, you most likely won’t purchase.
Video testimonials have the biggest influence on shoppers because you see the users make demonstrations and listen to them talk. You can see them using the microwave if that’s what they are describing. You can see the efficiency of a lawn mower as a demonstrator mows their lawns.
They Provide Social Proof
Social proof refers to signs that show a business is legitimate and trusted by others. You know how you avoid products with zero buys for top-selling products? That’s social proof. Good reviews are proof the product has been tried by others and proven to be good.
The higher the number of product reviews, the more proof the product is popular among customers and thus worth buying. Of course, there is more to a product than users’ reviews. But you probably already read the product’s description before heading to the reviews, right?
Shoppers use reviews as the last indication of whether a product is worth the prices. If you find a good-looking product with almost no buys there can only be two explanations. Either the product was newly published or the product is unpopular. Most customers would rather choose a best-seller.
Expert Reviews Can be Eye-Opening
When you need to buy a machine or something you know little about, expert reviews can help you make the right decision. An expert in generators probably knows more about the power machines than you do. When you need a good generator, online descriptions may not be enough to help you make the right decision.
Instead, listening to experts tell you the differences between several types of generators can have more influence on the decision you make. Again, you can ask questions about the equipment and have the experts answer you back. You will get better descriptions of the products and get the product you deserve.
Expert reviews are particularly helpful in the service industry. While anyone could review a computer, it takes special knowledge to provide great reviews about law firms and insurance industries. With no tangible products sold, most reviews in the service industries are opinions. Experts, on the other hand, break down everything you should know about service providers and helps you pick the right company.
To Conclude
Online reviews don’t always look genuine. In the new age of retailers buying customer feedback you are forgiven for doubting some of the reviews you find online. However, most customer reviews on major E-Commerce stores come from independent buyers.
Customers like you purchase products and offer helpful feedback about the same. When the reviews are multiple and one-sided, pay more attention. The product could indeed be good or worthless. 84% of buyers trust the reviews anyway. And so should you.