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As people spend more time online and e-commerce becomes a fundamental part of our lives, website reviews have become more important than ever.
For some consumers, reading users’ opinions on goods or services can be helpful in the decision-making process, but for others, they tend not to trust them due to their dubious origins.
Amazon’s Authentic Feedback
Reviews on Amazon, as one of the biggest e-commerce providers out there, are a vital metric for customers looking to buy a product.
Every one of them has to adhere to Amazon’s Community Guidelines and provide, as they state, “authentic feedback” on the usage of a product.
Most follow these guidelines, although, in the last few years, thousands of products have experienced fake reviews designed to sway users one way or another.
As consumers, we tend to focus on negative reviews and in many instances, products can have a disproportionately low rating.
This is thanks to users leaving fake reviews in attempts to discredit a product in favor of a potential competitor.
A Financial Times investigation found that the Seattle-based firm had deleted 20,000 reviews after clear evidence of profit-for-post content.
Source:Unsplash
The way that these reviews work is that manufacturers can offer incentives in exchange for a glowing endorsement.
In the last few years, groups on social media sites such as Facebook have been uncovered offering a ‘review-trading’ service whereby a fake positive review would net the reviewer a refund or commission on the sales of a particular product.
It is used as a money-making venture not just on Amazon but also on other e-commerce providers such as eBay and even the likes of TripAdvisor.
Reputable Reviews
Therefore, with anyone being able to write a review online, it is integral to listen to experts on specific goods and services as opposed to anonymous fake reviews on sites like Amazon or Walmart.
For example, in the online casino industry, where there are thousands of choices, the Wild Casino review page from Bonusfinder Canada, for example, offers a well-reasoned and explained analysis of a provider.
Bonusfinder has a reputation for being Canada’s most comprehensive online gambling bonus guide, so they’re a trusted voice of reason in the sector.
In other sectors, websites such as CNET provide tech reviews and feature writers who are experts in their chosen fields.
This is particularly important because it means you’ll get well-thought-out and genuine opinions on products backed by fact and benchmarking, as opposed to paid and otherwise empty claims.
CNET considers price, performance, and features which is, in other words, everything a potential customer would need to know. Amongst dishonest reviews, sites such as these are essential to finding the right product.
Source: Unsplash
In general, consumers need to be a lot more careful when deliberating which product to buy online and read beyond listings and their associated reviews.
With such high quantities of misinformation out there, it is important to go to the experts to better understand a user’s respective experience.
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