Research suggests credibility of online reviews is unaffected when reviewers are rewarded

Research suggests credibility of online reviews is unaffected when reviewers are rewarded

New research conducted by ODC Services and published by social media agency, immediate future, has found a desire from consumers to be more involved in the review of products and services provided by online retailers.

Over 60% of the 2,000 UK online shoppers who took part in the research, said they would be more likely to shop at a site that rewarded them for writing reviews or recommending products to friends.

The credibility of consumer reviews or recommendations that are incentivised by the retailer are largely unaffected. Almost one third (32%) of consumers thought better of a brand or product that has been recommended – this feel to just 30% when the reviewer has been rewarded.

Money is not the only reward

But rewards are not just about money. Only 11% just wanted transactional rewards. Over 82% wanted both transactional and experiential rewards, such as access to new products before other people, private shopping days or getting involved in product development.

Adam Lewis, director at immediate future, says: “The social shopper is not just a buyer: they are also an expert, critique, influencer and potential advocate. There is an untapped consumer appetite to be advocates for a product or service – rewarding them for the time and effort in doing so is not seen as a negative. Rewards are not just about money. Retailers need to be looking at other ways to build relationships and make their social shoppers feel special.”

And, with 53% reviewing a product or service online in the last month, it became clear that online influencers and the sharing of consumer opinion is becoming part of a new route to purchase.

Sharing experiences with peers

When asked about actions taken after making purchases online, 37% said they had reviewed or talked about their last purchase online. This was a mere 1% less than those who had discussed it face-to face offline (38 per cent).

Lewis added: “The social shopper is sharing their experiences with their network online as much as they are offline network. This reinforces the need for retailers to be involved in the conversation.”

Other key findings from the report included that 46% of online shoppers do not have a clear idea what they want to purchase when they go online; there was high demand for customer service by customer (50%) and private shopping days (60%); and consumer comments and reviews on forums are used in product research (11%) slightly more than professional reviews in newspapers (9%).