Online Reviews: Do Consumers Trust Them

The use of the WWW as a venue for voicing opinions, complaints and recommendations on products and firms has been widely reported in the popular media. However less is known how consumers use these reviews and if they subsequently have any influence on evaluations and purchase intentions of products and retailers. This study examines the effect of negative reviews on retailer evaluation and patronage intention given that the consumer has already made a product/brand decision. Our results indicate that the extent of WOM (Word of Mouth) search depends on the consumer's reasons for choosing an online retailer. Further the influence of negative WOM information on perceived reliability of retailer and purchase intentions is determined largely by familiarity with the retailer and differences based on whether the retailer is a pure-Internet or Ad clicks firm. Managerial implications for positioning strategies to minimize the effect of negative word-of-mouth have been discussed.