Gartner Insights Abstract

Champion Trustworthy Reviews to Drive Consumer Shopping Decisions

Published: 10 July 2024

Summary

Customer reviews perceived as inauthentic can be as damaging as negative reviews. Almost half of consumers who suspect they see a fake review for a product will no longer consider the purchase. CMOs can use these consumer insights to strengthen their customer review management strategy.

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Overview

Key Findings
  • Most consumers use reviews as a critical data point when making a purchase. While many organizations are concerned about customers getting deterred by poor ratings, they should also be aware of consumers’ growing suspicion about fake reviews. Fake reviews threaten to derail a purchase, as 49% of U.S. consumers who encounter a fake review said they won’t buy the item and 59% of respondents said they’ve come across a review they believe is fake in 2023, up 18% since 2018.

  • Consumers perceive reviews and ratings on a brand’s websites as less trustworthy than those posted on Amazon and Google,

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Analysts:

Anna Maria Virzi Emma Mathison Jason Daigler

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