How customer reviews have shaped buying habits over time

Finding the best new products can be tough, but all it takes is the right hashtag or keyword on a social media site to be inundated with information on the products that other people are using. Take, for example, the massive popularity that beauty influencers have on TikTok. These influencers, who post their opinions on makeup or skin care products, have introduced millions of followers to new products and, in turn, steered their followers’ opinions on buying them.

User reviews on other social media sites such as YouTube have been just as successful at driving the discovery of new products, whether the niche is makeup, home goods, tools, or something else entirely. As such, one post can make or break the popularity of a new product and, in turn, can have a big impact on which new products shoppers choose to spend their money on.

Real customer feedback can be a gold mine of information, which is why the feedback posts from verified buyers on e-commerce sites matter so much. Nearly 100% of buyers will dig into product reviews to get the bigger picture about an item before completing a purchase. By reading the product reviews, buyers can find out whether other people have had issues with the product, or learn what they think are the upsides and potential drawbacks of the product. The reason product reviews can be so heavily relied on is because other buyers have no stake in the game—unlike the brands themselves. The people who write product reviews aren’t profiting off the sale of the product, which means that their reviews are seen as unbiased, genuine, and—most importantly—trustworthy.

Scrolling through image-heavy social media sites like Instagram can lead to impulse purchases, and it’s not the shiny advertisements that do it. What tends to drive shoppers from mindless browsing to actively shopping are the user-generated videos and photos of regular people using a brand’s products or wearing a brand’s clothing while doing everyday things, like traveling or working out. That’s because these types of posts put the focus on the person, not the product—and it feels more authentic than other types of brand campaigns.

Most people feel they can connect to regular people on social media—a lot more than they can connect to a model on a glossy magazine page, anyway—and they tend to seem more trustworthy, too. But user-generated content is not just a more genuine way for brands to pedal merchandise; it’s also extremely effective and can lead to significantly more purchases.

Before there was easy access to customer reviews via the internet, a product’s price point often had a significant bearing on sales. Without unbiased user feedback to help form their opinions, many shoppers chose the cheapest option—even if it ended up being subpar to the alternatives. That is no longer the case, however, because price tags have taken a back seat to customer reviews.

These days, what other people think of a product or item is often more important than finding the item with the cheapest price, in large part because the value of a product can be weighed based on that unbiased user feedback. If a product has excellent feedback but a higher price tag, it’s more likely to be chosen over a cheaper product with poor feedback because the higher cost of the better item can be justified.

Customer reviews aren’t just more important than the cost of an item, either. They’re also more important than other perks, such as free shipping—which will no longer justify the purchase of a subpar item. Companies once relied on free shipping to entice buyers to purchase items from their sites; with price no longer being the main driver of buying decisions, it makes sense that free shipping would now matter less, too.

Instead of saving a few extra bucks on shipping, it’s better to know that a product is going to do what it claims and that it’s worth the money spent on it. If the user reviews are negative or point out problems with the merchandise, adding in free shipping isn’t enough to overcome distrust of the product. And it’s not just negative reviews that are problematic: If the website doesn’t offer any access to user reviews, most shoppers will steer clear of the website entirely, even if they have to pay for shipping when using another site for their purchases.

Whether looking for a new vacuum or a new TV, a product recommendation from a friend or family member will no longer cut it for most people.

Having access to websites with user reviews now carries more weight than recommendations from trusted friends. Shoppers want to know how a wider pool of buyers feels about the product—not just the opinion of a best friend or great aunt. Having more opinions available provides the needed trust and knowledge that a product is worth purchasing—and a website with a handful of reviews won’t do the trick. Nearly 70% of shoppers think that the ideal scenario is for a product to have 26 or more reviews—and the more recent the reviews are, the more trust in them, too.

User reviews clearly have a big impact on the products chosen to buy or steer clear of, but positive reviews can actually be a double-edged sword. About 46% of shoppers are suspicious when a product has an average star rating of five out of five—and that percentage is even higher among Generation Z, which is arguably one of the most digitally savvy generations.

When a product only has perfect reviews, it can be viewed as untrustworthy for appearing fake. No shopper wants to be duped by sellers, so if a product has user reviews that are both good and not-so-good, the process usually can be better trusted. In fact, 96% of consumers specifically look for negative user reviews—at least sometimes—and over half go so far as to seek out the one-star reviews in the mix. So, while companies may prefer to see only five-star product reviews, a few not-so-great reviews here or there can help bolster trust in the review process.

Reliance on customer reviews has led to looking for juicy details regarding other people’s bad experiences on shopping platforms or products. What that means is that angry reviews can also steer shopping habits, leading consumers to be more hesitant to complete a transaction—even if they don’t perceive the review as being particularly helpful overall.

But it’s not just the angry reviews that drive shopping habits—it’s also the way that the company or seller responds to it. If it’s seen that the seller has reached out to the customer to address the issue in an adequate manner, less trust is lost. If the angry reviews aren’t addressed by the seller, shoppers may be wary of making a purchase because it could lead to a situation where they experience similar frustration or anger.