Competition is fierce in the e-commerce market. However, to grab a few places in front of the neighbors, some do not hesitate to cheat by using (or abusing) false opinions on their products. Invesp has looked into the subject to produce a complete infographic about this practice and its effects on consumers.
On the web, like everywhere else, there are cheaters. There are those who buy fake followers on social networks, but today we are interested in those who buy fake comments to boost their online business. Knowing that 93% of consumers recognize that online reviews have an impact on their purchasing decisions, some are having a blast!
Only here, the Internet user is far from being stupid. If a product does not have a negative review, it is suspicious and 95% of them suspect censorship by the site or the brand. Moreover, more than one in two people would not buy a product on which there is still doubt as to the reliability of the reviews. On this point, the trend is unfortunately on the rise, because more and more companies no longer hesitate to increase their positive opinions or to generate negative ones on competing products or services.
Many consumers are now aware of the issue, but we must always remain cautious. It is estimated that 82% of internet users have read at least one fake comment or review in the last twelve months. A figure that rises to 92% among 18-34 year olds, against 74% among 35-54 year olds and 59% among those over 54.
A real lack of confidence
Whatever the reasons that lead some to turn to this solution, it harms the entire market. In fact, 65% of consumers say they don’t trust what they read in reviews. Worse still, 72% believe that fake reviews have become the norm in the e-commerce market.
There is still work to clean the Web of these false reviews. And that’s not for now, when we see that 43% of merchant sites want only customers who have made verified purchases to be able to publish reviews.