10 things online reviewers won’t say
Why consumers can’t trust five-star ratings — or nasty complaints
March 01, 2013|Kelli B. Grant
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SUNDAY
Why consumers can’t always trust those five-star ratings –or nasty complaints
1. “Trust in us may be misplaced.”
Seventy percent of consumers say they trust reviews from Yelp.com, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List and other review websites—a 15% increase from 2009, according to researcher Nielsen. But as many as 30% of online reviews are fake, estimates Bing Liu, a professor of computer science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Businesses can easily find people online who are willing to write reviews for just a few bucks.
Review sites concede that fakes are a problem, but say they each have systems in place for picking out suspicious write-ups, from automated filters to special investigation teams.
2. “We have skin in the game.”
In another kind of fake review, business owners and their employees, friends and family members post under false identities, says Jack Vonder Heide, chief executive of research group Technology Briefing Centers. These so-called sock-puppet accounts usually produce glowingly positive reviews of a business – or scathingly negative reviews of its competitors.
Why would a business resort to such tactics? A 2011 Harvard University study found that a one-star better difference on Yelp.com accounts for an extra 5% to 9% in sales for an independent restaurant. Review sites’ policies typically allow owners to respond to reviews, but prohibit business owners and affiliates from reviewing themselves or soliciting others to do so.
3. “Venting online is a good way to wind up in court.”
Business owners haven’t been sky about taking legal action against the writers of negative online reviews – in part because the Communications Decency Act prevents them from going after the review site, says David Wachen, an attorney in Washington, D.C. “What you need to be very careful about is, opinion is protected by the First Amendment, but false statements of fact are not,” he says.
Reviewers should consider their wording carefully before posting, and not assume posting anonymously will provide a shield. “Sometimes people have a false sense of security, if they’re sitting in their pajamas writing nasty things about people under a pseudonym,” Mr. Wachen says. “While it can be challenging, it’s not impossible to track you down.”
4. “Five stars does not a stellar product make.”
A 2008 University of Illinois analysis found that 60% of reviews across Amazon.com awarded products five stars. Another 20% of reviews awarded four stars. TripAdvisor says its average rating for hotels is currently four out of five, and as of August 2011, according to Yelp, 39% of its site reviews gave five stars and 28% gave four stars.
Prevalent fake and solicited reviews probably contribute to the higher ratings, experts say, especially since the number of negative reviews is small relative to the number of customers. Shoppers also are more likely to give feedback on purchases they get excited about, which is often why they’re buying in the first place.
5. “Variants may be silenced.”
Sites weigh individual consumer experiences differently in their ratings formulas. Epinions.com users have the ability to rate reviews as “Not Helpful,” or “Don’t Show”, which can render some posts unviewable to users who aren’t logged in, says a spokesman. And Yelp estimates that 80% of user reviews are showcased, with the remaining 20% “filtered”.
Review filters aren’t all bad – they are often sites’ first line of defense in limiting fake and biased reviews that might lead to a bad purchase decision. But experts say consumers may find better data looking at the review details rather than the overall rating.
6. “The discount made us love it.”
In a 2011 Cornell University survey of 166 Amazon “top 1,000” reviewers, 85% had received free products from manufacturers and publishers – an 78% said they often or always posted a review of such products (88% said their reviews were often or always positive).
Federal Trade Commission regulations require reviewers to disclose any freebies or payments received, says a spokeswoman. But there’s no fine or penalty for consumer violators – the agency focuses more on whether marketers are telling customers to reveal the connection, she says.
Amazon spokeswoman says companies can offer a free product upfront through the Amazon Vine program, but must allow for both positive and negative reviews. The write-ups note that a review product was received. Other forms of compensation are not permitted, she says.
7. “Reading reviews compromises your objectivity.”
Reading a review, positive or negative, can flavor consumers’ experiences, says Michael Luca, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School. A 2013 study from public-relations firm Weber Shandwick found that, as a result of consumer reviews, 65% of shoppers picked a brand they weren’t already considering. Than can mean buyers aren’t getting their money’s worth, if the resort or restaurant, say, is really just so-so. But there can be an upside to going in with a set impression, says Kit Yarrow, a professor of psychology and marketing at Golden Gate University in San Francisco: Your attitude going into a transaction can affect the way you act and the way the service provider responds – you may just get a better experience because you’re being nicer.
8. “Our opinions are priceless.”
Plenty of retailers send out reminders for feedback from regular customers, hoping to boost review numbers and ratings that can be used in ads and sold to partners for reposting, says Mr. Vonder Heide. Epinions, for example, allows paying partners like price-comparison portals to show “snippets” of reviews, says a spokesman.
TripAdvisor says it makes money licensing out content to partners including tourism groups. Sites including Epinions, Urbanspoon, Citysearch and Insider Pages say consumers retain the rights to their review, meaning they can change or remove their comments at any time.
But while the review stands, there’s little people can do to keep part of their review from showing up on the business’s website or a shopping portal as the review site allows, Mr. Vonder Heide says.
9. “Fake reviews are sometimes better than no reviews.”
Despite all the policies and procedures in place to weed out fake reviews, for retailers that allow on-site product ratings, fakes aren’t so bad, says Mr. Liu. “For them, positive reviews mean good business,” he says. Shoppers comparing options are more likely to buy a product that has a few positive reviews than one that has no reviews at all.
And they may opt to buy elsewhere if none of the products have been reviewed. A 2012 study from social-media marketer Bazaarvoice found that 84% of millenials and 70% of baby boomers say consumer reviews and other user-generated content influence what they decide to buy. “Without consumer input, millenials don’t buy,” the researcher wrote.
10. “Business owners may be moderating our conversation.”
Hunting for a pizza place or per groomer? Expert businesses that paid for preferential placement show up at the top of the list. General contractor Christopher Dietz, owner of Dietz Development in Washington, D.C., says he gets regular calls from Yelp offering to help him capitalize on his page views and “work on” his negative reviews. “I haven’t taken them up on it,” he says. “it’s a principle thing.”
Other business owners seem to have similar viewpoints. Two different groups of business owners brought class-action suits against Yelp in 2010, alleging that the site manipulated reviews to get businesses to buy ads. A California court dismissed the merged suit with prejudice in 2011, meaning it cannot be refilled, but lawyers have filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “Simply put, there has never been any amount of money a business pay Yelp to manipulate reviews, and our review filter does not punish those who don’t advertise,” says Darnell Holloway, Yelp’s manager of local business outreach.
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