Online shopping. We all do it, whether it’s for the convenience, wide range of products, free shipping, or that one item that’s “only available online.” Projections say that by the year 2015, over $280 billion in retail sales will be online.
But before you buy anything online, you probably will scroll down and take a look at those customer reviews featured on the seller’s site. Rating products in “stars” and posting criticism or praise of the product helps other potential buyers can see what real users of the product think of it before they buy it.
“I always check the reviews before I buy anything online,” said VHS junior Courtney Paganelli, “It’s an informative way to see other people’s prior experiences with a product you are about to purchase.”
The reviews of the product usually appear to be people’s honest, unfiltered, and unedited opinion. But here’s what you need to know: many companies are now paying people and real customers to praise their products.
“Everyone’s trying to do something to make themselves look better,” said Linchi Kwok, an assistant professor at Syracuse University, who is researching social media and the hospitality industry. “Some of them, if they cannot generate authentic reviews, may hire somebody to do it.”
The practice known as “sponsored reviews,” is becoming a very popular business tool for companies looking to heighten their purchases and good appearance of their products.
Companies like PayPerPost review other companies for business, most of which they know little to nothing about. Corporations hire bloggers from all over the world through PayPerPost to comment on their services. They negotiate a price, choose where the review will be posted, and approve the review beforehand.
Sandra Parker, is employed by a review factory to pump out fake reviews for products on Amazon reviews for $10 per review. “We were not asked to provide a five-star review, but would be asked to turn down an assignment if we could not give one.”
That’s not the only way companies are getting “fake,” reviews. A manufacturer of covers for the Amazon Kindle used the “pay-per-post” tactic and offered buyers a full rebate in exchange for a review. Today the manufacturer had received over 5,000 reviews on Amazon and has a 4.9 rating out of five.
Under Federal Trade Commission rules, “when there is a connection between a merchant and someone promoting its product that affects the endorsement’s credibility, it must be fully disclosed.”
F.T.C’s associate director for advertising practices, Mary K. Engle, said “Advertising disguised as editorial is an old problem, but it’s now presenting itself in different ways… we’re very concerned.”
Utilizing a different approach to online reviews, companies like Main Street Hub are in the business of managing small businesses’ online reputation. Chief executive Andrew Allison says “A courteous response to a negative review can persuade the reviewer to change their reviews from two to three or four stars… That’s one of the highest victories a local business can aspire to with respect to their critics.”
The hard part is to determine whether any review is legitimate or if it’s bogus. Researchers at Cornell recently created a computer algorithm for detecting bogus reviews, which worked about 90 percent of the time. The bogus reviews all had very similar characteristics; they all tended to be a story-like review of their experience with buying the product. They also over used “I” and “me” to try to show their own credibility.
“(A false review) makes me angry because it deceives the person buying the product, and they make it seem like it’s good while in reality the product may suck,” adamantly stated junior Zach Lanaras, “They really should make some law to stop that from happening.”