Leverage Authenticity Labels and Negative Reviews to Combat Fake Reviews
Most consumers believe they can see through a fraudulent review or perfect average star ratings. Is that true?
- Customer reviews are vital for both brands and consumers. However, fake reviews are becoming a menace and concern for consumers.
- PowerReviews recently conducted a study to understand the concern around fraudulent reviews. Here are a few insights and steps brands can take to preserve review authenticity.
In today’s business landscape, one of the most crucial ways for brands to establish consumer trust is through user reviews. According to a 2021 study by PowerReviews, 98% of consumers felt reviews are essential when making a purchase decision.
Yet, there is a huge problem plaguing online reviews — fake reviews. One just needs to search online to find many articles on fake reviews plaguing different platforms. Brands and retailers may resort to them to boost consumer perception. Some may even hide or remove negative reviews to achieve this. While these activities may improve brand perception in the short term, they cause lasting damage. Hence, companies should focus on preserving review authenticity.
PowerReviews recently conducted a study to understand the growing concern around fake reviews. The following are insights from the study and steps brands can take to preserve review authenticity.
See more: 87% Shoppers Believe Real-Life Reviews Greatly Impact Their Purchasing Decisions
Consumers of All Ages Are Worried About Fake Reviews
When reading online reviews, 81% of consumers are worried about fake ones, and this concern is fairly steady across all generations. While 81% of Gen Z consumers are worried, 80% of Millennials and 83% of Gen X consumers are worried about fake reviews. Similarly, 81% of Boomers are concerned about fraudulent reviews.
Further, this concern is growing with more news of fraudulent reviews making headlines in recent years. About 63% are more worried about them when making online purchases than five years ago. And the concern is growing among all generations. While 61% of Gen Z consumers are more concerned today than five years ago, 62% of Millennials, 64% of Gen X, and 61% of Boomers are concerned today.
Are there any platforms, in particular, where consumers are more worried about fraudulent reviews? According to the study, Amazon topped the list, with 84% of respondents worried about fake reviews on the platform. This was followed by Walmart (53%), Target (29%), Wayfair (26%), and Best Buy (18%). A few consumers were also worried about fraudulent reviews on Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Kroger.
Review Wording and Bad Grammar Raise Red Flags
Fraudulent reviews have become very common today. Almost 90% of shoppers believe they have read a fraudulent review at some point. Regarding different consumer generations, Boomer and Gen Z consumers are less likely to suspect they have read fraudulent reviews than Gen X and Millennials. Further, the higher a respondent’s household income, the more likely they suspect they have read fake reviews. This is probably because people with higher incomes tend to shop online more and, hence, see more fake reviews.
So, how do consumers identify fraudulent reviews? Or what factors make them think the review is unauthentic? The top factor is how the review is worded or written. A few other red flags include poor grammar, the extremeness of the review (either too negative or positive), and insufficient detail.
Top Factors That Tip Shoppers Off to a Fake Review
Source: How Fake Reviews Destroy Consumer Trust Study
Improve Trust by Preserving Review Authenticity
Fake reviews can diminish brand perception among shoppers. Hence, brands and platforms should prioritize preserving the authenticity of reviews. So, how can they do that?
Be transparent about the review source
Reviews come from various sources. For instance, one may be written by a person receiving a free sample, and another may be written by a shopper who bought the product. One way to maintain reviews’ authenticity is to be transparent about the source. Retailers and brands can do this by adding a tag or label to a review, which lets shoppers know the source.
A few tags that significantly impact shoppers’ perception of a review include Verified Buyer (69%), Verified Reviewer (56%), and Review submitted as part of a sampling campaign (43%).
Let negative reviews be present
Some retailers may hide negative reviews, as the latter may affect brand image. That said, a lack of negative reviews may raise suspicion among consumers. As seen above, extremely positive or negative reviews can be a red flag, and this includes star ratings. An earlier study by PowerReviews found that 46% of shoppers are wary of products or retailers with a perfect 5/5 star rating.
Perfect average star ratings are rare and seldom ideal. About 44% of the respondents felt the ideal average star rating is between 4.5 and 4.99. About 42% thought the sweet spot was between 4.0 and 4.49.
While negative reviews are not something to aim for, the positive side of them is that many consumers depend on them to make buying decisions. In fact, many consumers actively seek out 1- or 2-star reviews. This helps them identify the worst-case scenario and whether it is something they can deal with. Further, negative reviews show consumers transparency, and this boosts trust.
See more: How To Manage Online Reviews, the Secret Weapon of Brand Reputation
Top Takeaways for Retailers and Brands
There are a few key takeaways for retailers and brands from the study. For starters, consumers are worried about fraudulent reviews, and this concern is growing. Further, shoppers are worried about fake reviews on popular platforms like Amazon and Walmart.
Unfortunately, fraudulent reviews have become very common, so much so that many shoppers believe they can easily spot a fraudulent one. Certain factors, such as poor grammar, review text, and extremeness (both positive and negative), can easily give away a fraudulent review. The same holds good for perfect 5/5 average star ratings, as most consumers are suspicious about them.
With all this in mind, retailers and brands must preserve review authenticity. They can do this using two major steps. The first is to add tags or badges, such as “verified buyer,” to validate the authenticity of a review. The second is to leverage negative reviews as a tool to build authenticity. While having negative reviews is not the goal, given that consumers seek them out, it is a good way to show the brand or retailer is authentic.
Ultimately, a brand or retailer’s authenticity boosts its image among consumers and increases the probability of attracting them.
What steps have you taken to combat the problem of fake reviews? Let us know on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. We’d love to hear from you!
Image source: Shutterstock
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