In the last 15 years, brand loyalty has declined and continues in free fall, due to the greater offer of all kinds of products and services. Is about a break between customer and brand that accelerated during the pandemic, when many users were driven to make their purchases online and discovered the possibilities offered by electronic commerce.
Online shopping has eaten him an important part of the market to the physical storesTherefore, in a natural process of modernization, they have been driven towards the digitization of their transactions, either by internalizing a distribution process or by resorting to large e-commerce stores that feed on their products.
The importance of a positive feedback for business
Currently 450,000 reviews are seen every day by Internet users, the equivalent of 4 billion reviews viewed per year. These data are a mirror that reflects the current landscape of user purchasing habitsboth on the internet and in physical stores, where a positive assessment from other consumers is more important than a great promotion or an elaborate advertising plan.
According to the McKinsey study data reflected in the article Five-star growth: Using online ratings to design better products, a mere 0.2 increase in a rating from 1 to 5 stars represents changes in several categories, but an increase is more significant. that allows businesses have a rating above 4 stars, reaching a significant increase in sales volume.
The data in this regard handled by NoFakes, a Spanish review certification company, places the increase in sales at around 270% for companies that have positive opinions, even reaching 380% when it comes to high-value products and services.
The role of customers
The varied offer of products on the Internet also shows a range of completely different evaluations where, as a general rule, some users warn others based on their shopping experiences, especially in cases where the transaction has been outstanding or, on the contrary, in cases where an unsatisfactory experience is reported.
These comments are taken into account by other digital users who have acquired the habit of reviewing user opinions before making a disbursement. According to NoFakes data, 9 out of 10 consumers read between 1 and 6 reviews before going ahead with the transaction.
As indicated Patricia MateyCEO of NoFakes, “Reviews are not just comments, they are an open door for conversation between a customer and the provider of a good or service. Having the possibility to listen to the opinions of the buyers is a benefit for the business and for the buyer himself. The importance of customer opinions makes it possible to adapt the product or service to the demands, generating a better relationship between the seller and their regular or future buyers”.
The danger of fake reviews
A review of a restaurant or retail establishment is a reflection of a personal and generally subjective opinion, which is why it is common to find reviews of all kinds on the internet. However, in recent years, fake review sites have proliferated that put the credibility of online reputation at risk.
What was born as review aggregators with the aim of shedding light has been progressively distorted and has given rise to to a fully professionalized black market buying and selling fake reviews. An easily accessible free buffet where with a simple Google search and for a small price, 5-star reviews are added to a business in a matter of seconds.
The data that NoFakes handles in this regard reveal a fraudulent market where, up to 55% of the reviews that are published on the internet, are false and do double damage, on the one hand, damaging the reputation and on the other, deceiving the consumer by indicating a quality in their reviews that they do not have.
