Reviewmeta has published a study which finds that about 20% of all product reviews on Amazon are actually fake. Looking at 7 million reviews on various Amazon country pages, the company showed that after sorting out fake reviews, the overall evaluation of products was significantly different. This was equally the case into both directions, indicating that some products receive a lot of positive fake reviews to push it, while others are killed by receiving many negative fake reviews.
As some traders on Amazon report that positive reviews can boost sales by 30-50%, the motive to influence own reviews positively and competitors’ reviews negatively is clear.
The study, in particular, looked at “incentivized” reviews, where buyers would receive the product for free or at a large discount in exchange for an “honest and unbiased review”. These reviews/ratings were on average 0.4 stars higher than un-incentivized.
Read the full study here:
Analysis of 7 million Amazon reviews: customers who receive free or discounted item much more likely to write positive review – ReviewMeta Blog
Analysis of 7 million Amazon reviews: customers who receive free or discounted item much more likely to write positive review – ReviewMeta Blog
