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Fake reviews: What you can do as a customer
It is not only since Corona that online retail ingessis has boomed in Germany. In order not to buy “the cat in the bag”, many customers rely heavily on product reviews and prefer to buy products with a good customer rating. Since this behavior is well known in the online industry and analyzed very accurately, manufacturers and distributors try to design product reviews to their advantage. Therefore, consumers should be attentive when comparing products on the Internet in order to be able to obtain valid information from reviews.Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
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97% of all online customers use product reviews
Online retail is characterised by a very low level of customer loyalty. If you can literally reach the whole world with just one click, you rarely always buy from the same provider, but compare prices and qualities. Since goods are purchased unseen in online retail, it is not possible for customers to estimate the quality of a product. This is why many customers rely on feedback from other customers, so-called product reviews, to make a purchase decision. In surveys, up to 97% of respondents say they use product reviews as an important purchasing criterion.
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How sellers harness the power of reviews
Many sellers use the power of product reviews and try to increase their sales by influencing reviews. There are several ways to do this:
- Discounts for customers who write a positive review
- Free products in exchange for good reviews
- Purchased reviews
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Some manufacturers promise their customers an attractive discount if they give a positive rating to the online shop after purchasing the product. Another way to accumulate good reviews is to send free products to “test customers”. In order to keep the product, they must write a positive review. Both approaches are highly critical, as the customer’s opinion is not freely expressed, but is distorted by the consideration. Customers who write the review are thus prevented from mentioning negative aspects of the product. Even a step further goes the third method of buying reviews. There is no connection between the review and the product and the alleged customer of a fake review is not even in possession of the product. Manufacturers of a product can buy as many reviews as they like on specialized sites. Often, even a subscription is sold, where a fixed number of positive reviews are received for the product each month.
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Many online shops try to delete fake reviews
Operators of the sales platforms, on the other hand, are often critical of influenced reviews and try to prevent them. Although many supposed customer reviews testify to a successful online shop, fake reviews greatly undermine the credibility of the shop. Since the online shop has no economic benefit when customers prefer product A, which is advertised with fake reviews, product B, most shops take action against fake reviews. However, this is a fight against windmills, which is why customers should always be on their guard and attentive.
Conclusion:
Customers should be very careful when buying online. It is recommended to take advantage of the fact that the methods described above are not an option for manufacturers to prevent bad and medium reviews. As a customer, therefore, read these reviews before making a purchase decision in order to get a comprehensive picture of the desired product.
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How to detect fake reviews?
Anyone who finds many similar-sounding or built-up reviews among the reviews of a product should be listened to. Caution should also be exercised with superlatives that the product objectively cannot comply with. Another indication is “professional” reviews or a variety of reviews, all of which stand out on the same product characteristics. However, the aspects mentioned here only serve as a guideline and cannot prove a fake review without any doubt.
How can customers still read information from reviews?
Pay attention to bad and medium reviews, because no manufacturer spends money on bad reviews. However, be careful that very bad reviews are also not objective. Those who are disappointed by a delayed delivery or poor customer service may let their frustration run wild in a review and evaluate the product unnecessarily badly.
What information can be obtained from product reviews?
Read carefully when other customers write about the pros and cons of a product. Try to anticipate whether the disadvantages mentioned are also very important for you or whether you may be able to overlook them.