"Customers want to read reviews and businesses need reviews to attract customers. But the constant demand for reviews could be creating a feedback backlash, experts say. What began as an innovative way to benefit consumers is increasingly an obligatory burden for shoppers and sellers alike."
"Amazon where better review stats give sellers a competitive edge played a big part in popularizing the online customer review system we now take for granted, according to Prasad Vana, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Oxford. Going back to the company's early days as an online bookstore that featured reader reviews, he says, they were one of the first ones to prominently do it and stick to it."
"Although the inclusion of low ratings could potentially drive down sales, it was introduced to help customers make better decisions. But as Amazon's marketplace scaled up to a point that shoppers are now often faced with a dizzying number of options for any given product, sellers had to amass reviews to stay competitive."
Customer review systems, popularized by Amazon's early adoption of standardized five-star ratings, have become ubiquitous across industries from restaurants to healthcare to entertainment. While reviews initially helped consumers make informed decisions and provided valuable feedback to businesses, the proliferation of review requests has created fatigue among customers. Businesses now depend heavily on accumulating reviews to remain competitive in search algorithms and attract customers. This shift from innovation to obligation has generated a feedback backlash, with consumers increasingly tired of constant rating prompts. The system that once benefited shoppers by providing transparent feedback has evolved into an exhausting expectation affecting both consumers and sellers.
Read at www.npr.org
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