A customer review is an

evaluation Evaluation is a systematic determination and assessment of a subject's merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. It can assist an organization, program, design, project or any other intervention or initiative ...

of a product or service made by someone who has purchased and used, or had experience with, a product or service. Customer reviews are a form of

customer feedback Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

electronic commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...

and

online shopping Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the r ...

sites. There are also dedicated

review site A review site is a website on which reviews can be posted about people, businesses, products, or services. These sites may use Web 2.0 techniques to gather reviews from site users or may employ professional writers to author reviews on the topic ...

s, some of which use customer reviews as well as or instead of professional reviews. The reviews may themselves be graded for usefulness or accuracy by other users.

History

Before the advent of the internet, methods by which customers could review products and services included customer comment boxes and

customer service Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...

helplines. These methods are still in existence today although internet review sites have grown significantly in recent years.

Reliability

The reliability of customer reviews has been questioned. Abuses akin to

ballot stuffing Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

of favourable reviews by the seller (known as incentivized reviews), or negative reviews by competitors, need to be policed by the review host site. Indeed, gathering fake reviews has become big business. In 2012, for example, fake book reviews have been revealed as significantly affecting ratings on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

. In 2016 Amazon banned the practice of reviewing complimentary products, researchers have shown that the process still continued as of 2021, but without any disclosures. Since few sites restrict users to reviewing only items they have actually purchased, it is difficult to know if a customer is real, has actually used the product they are reviewing, and is giving honest, unbiased feedback about the product or services being reviewed. Tools like Fakespot and ReviewMeta can help spot fake reviews on shopping sites like Amazon. Unfortunately, the tools do not work on most other websites that show customer reviews. Public calls have been growing stronger, demanding that review sites be held accountable for publishing fake reviews. Most recently (June 2021), the

Competition and Markets Authority The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the competition regulator in United Kingdom. It is a non-ministerial government department in the United Kingdom, responsible for strengthening business competition and preventing and reducing anti-com ...

(CMA) in the United Kingdom has launched an investigation into whether Amazon and

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

are doing enough to prevent fake reviews from being published on their sites. Both businesses claim to have sufficient resources and policies in place to prevent fake reviews from being published. Legal steps could be taken against the giants if CMA determines those claims to be false. In the meantime, 87% of consumers who read online reviews are left guessing, whether the reviews they base their purchasing choices on are real or fake as very few online review sites are able (or willing) to guarantee the authenticity of their reviews. One approach to ensuring authenticity is allowing reviews by invitation only. Businesses who collect their customers’ contact information invite only those customers to leave a review on a site that does not publish unsolicited reviews. One such site i
RealPatientRatings
which specializes in physician reviews. Invitation-only review sites only publish reviews written by consumers who actually visited the establishment or bought the product they’re reviewing. By excluding people – and bots – who never actually visited the business, fake reviews from fake customers are completely eliminated. Since more businesses collect their clients’ contact information, invitation-only reviews might just be the solution to the fake reviews problem. Whether a customer receives an invitation or not, many businesses have expressed the wish that customers let the business know in the moment if some aspect of their interaction or product is unsatisfactory, so they can have the opportunity to fix it on the spot or provide compensation, rather than customers leaving unnecessarily disappointed and writing negative reviews.

Fake review scandals

In 2010, British historian

Orlando Figes Orlando Guy Figes () is a British historian and writer. Until his retirement, he was Professor of History at Birkbeck College, University of London. Figes is known for his works on Russian history, such as ''A People's Tragedy'' (1996), ''Natas ...

posted reviews on Amazon praising his own work and criticizing that of his rivals. In August 2012, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' revealed that

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

had paid an online service to write reviews of his books, in order to artificially boost sales. In 2022, researchers from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

documented that millions of Amazon sellers purchase fake 5-star reviews through private Facebook groups.

Spoof reviews

Humorous customer reviews are common on some major shopping sites, such as Amazon. These are often

ironically Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...

or sarcastically praising reviews of products deemed

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

or mundane. Another example is

methylated spirit Denatured alcohol (also called methylated spirits in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; wood spirit; and denatured rectified spirit) is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, foul ...

s described in the style of a wine review. A product may become an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

attracting large numbers of spoof reviews, which may boost its sales. Famous examples include Tuscan Whole Milk and the

Three Wolf Moon Three Wolf Moon is a T-shirt featuring three wolves howling at the Moon. The numerous satirical reviews for this on Amazon.com have become an Internet phenomenon. The T-shirt was designed by artist Antonia Neshev. Origin The Three Wolf Moo ...

T-shirt. Examples of spoof reviews include: * ''

A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates ''A Million Random Digits with 100,000 Normal Deviates'' is a random number book by the RAND Corporation, originally published in 1955. The book, consisting primarily of a random number table, was an important 20th century work in the field of ...

'' (book) *

f.lux f.lux (pronounced "flux") is a cross-platform computer program that adjusts a display's color temperature according to location and time of day, offering functional respite for the eyes. The program is designed to reduce eye strain during nig ...

(display color adjustment software based on the time of day) * ''Osama Bin Laden's Hideout Compound'' (humorous reviews of

Osama bin Laden's hideout compound Osama bin Laden's compound, known locally as the Waziristan Haveli ( ur, , Wazīristān Havelī, Waziristan Mansion), was a large, upper-class house within a walled compound used as a safe house for militant Islamist Osama bin Laden, who was ...

written by

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

users after his

killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

on 1 May 2011) *

Uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

Ore * "BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen" British spoofers have targeted several

build to order Build to Order (BTO: sometimes referred to as Make to Order or Made to Order (MTO)) is a production approach where products are not built until a confirmed order for products is received. Thus, the end consumer determines the time and number of ...

novelty products made by Media Storehouse from two million licensed

photo library Stock photography is the supply of photographs which are often licensed for specific uses. The stock photo industry, which began to gain hold in the 1920s, has established models including traditional macrostock photography, midstock photography, ...

images, including a

canvas print A canvas print is the result of an image printed onto canvas which is often stretched, or gallery-wrapped, onto a frame and displayed. Canvas prints are used as the final output in an art piece, or as a way to reproduce other forms of art. Printi ...

of minor celebrity

Paul Ross Paul Ross (born 31 December 1956) is an English television and radio presenter, journalist and media personality. He is the son of Martha Ross and the elder brother of Jonathan Ross. Early life Growing up in outer east London, Ross was educat ...

, and a

jigsaw puzzle A jigsaw puzzle is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaiced pieces, each of which typically has a portion of a picture. When assembled, the puzzle pieces produce a complete picture. In th ...

of Nick Humby, a former finance director of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Review sites

Major review sites include: *Amazon *

Angie's List Angi (formerly Angie's List) is an American home services website owned by Angi Inc., a publicly-traded subsidiary of IAC. Founded in 1995 by Angie Hicks and William S. Oesterle, it allows users to search for contractors to provide paid home ...

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...

Bazaarvoice Bazaarvoice is a technology company based in Austin, Texas, that provides software that allows brands and retailers to collect and display several types of user-generated content (UGC) on their e-commerce websites. Bazaarvoice's services include� ...

(retailers) *

Better Business Bureau Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 97 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Unit ...

CNet ''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...

(technology) *https://www.ekomi.com/us/ (brands, provider of authentic, verified, transaction-based reviews and ratings.) *

Epicurious ''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's Foo ...

(recipes) *

Epinions Epinions.com was a general consumer review site established in 1999. Epinions was acquired in 2003 by DealTime, later Shopping.com, which was acquired by eBay in 2005. Epinions users could access reviews about a variety of items. On 25 March 2014 ...

* Judy's Book *

MerchantCircle MerchantCircle is a Walnut Creek, California-based digital company which helps small and midsize businesses network with other local businesses and reach local customers through free marketing tools and social media features. History MerchantCir ...

* MouthShut.com (Hotels, restaurants, travel, automobile, electronics, home appliances, books, employers etc.) *

PowerReviews PowerReviews is a technology company that provides software to brands and retailers that allow them to collect, display and analyse different forms of user-generated content (UGC) on their e-commerce websites. The company's capabilities include ...

(brands, retailers) *

Qype Qype was a Hamburg-based web 2.0 company centred on social networking and local reviews. They operated websites in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Italy and Brazil, and had approximately 22 mi ...

(focuses on local businesses) *

Resellerratings ResellerRatings is an online ratings site where consumers submit ratings and reviews of online retailers, and online retailers participate to respond to reviewers and to gather reviews from their customers post-purchase. As of July 11, 2017, the ...

(retailers) * TestFreaks (product reviews) * TripAdvisor (hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions) *

Trustpilot Trustpilot Group plc, is a Danish consumer business operating a review website founded in Denmark in 2007 which hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Nearly 1 million new reviews are posted each month. The site offers freemium services to busin ...

(retailers) *

Yelp! Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publish crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in San Fra ...

ZocDoc Zocdoc is a New York City-based company offering an online service that allows people to find and book in-person or telemedicine appointments for medical or dental care. The platform also functions as a physician and dentist rating and comparis ...

(doctors) *https://www.techostory.com/ (Gadget Reviews, Specifications, & Updates)

Google reviews

With its dominance in search, reviews became a logical progression in Google's product roadmap. Google's interest with reviews peaked in 2002 when it purchased the remaining business assets of review pioneer Deja, integrating much of their content into its own ecosphere. Over time Google changed to include reviews with searches which related to products and businesses, even allowing users to leave reviews. In later years, Google's integration with Android devices also allowed them to capitalise on their own products including reviews, facilitating the prominence and reliability of reviews from a large portion of smartphone users. Business owners who sign up to access the

Google My Business Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

service are able to prompt their customers to leave reviews directly from the Google My Business control panel. Businesses collecting reviews from Google also receive a boost to their

search engine optimisation Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic (known as "natural" or "organic" results) rather than direct ...

from positive customer feedback on Google as well as other numerous benefits both online and off. Google sources reviews and ratings from 30 independent review partners.About seller ratings ads extensions
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References

{{reflist Review websites