Not all digital word of mouth is created equal: Understanding the respective impact of consumer reviews and microblogs on new product success

The expansion of the Internet and social media have triggered a differentiation of the word-of-mouth (WOM) concept, with consumer communication about brands and products now taking place in various settings and forms. Two important digital WOM types are microblogs and consumer reviews. To clarify their differential roles for product success, this study offers a theoretical framework of the influence of these two types of WOM, drawing from consumer information search theory and diffusion theory. The tests of the proposed framework use a longitudinal data set of video game sales and weekly information gathered from microblogs (i.e., over 13 million tweets from Twitter) and consumer reviews (i.e., more than 17,000 Amazon consumer reviews). Analyzing a system of equations provides evidence that the influence of microblogs and consumer reviews on new product success changes over time. Prior to launch, the volumes of microblogs and consumer reviews, together with advertising, represent primary sales drivers. After launch, the volume of microblogs is initially influential, then loses impact, whereas the impact of the volume of consumer reviews continues to grow. The valence of consumer reviews gains significance only near the end of the observation period, but the valence of microblogging is never influential

The Valence of Online Consumer Reviews and Purchase Decision: Examining the Moderating Effects of Product Type and Consumer Expertise

The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effects of product type and consumer knowledge on the relationship between online consumer reviews and purchase decision. An experiment was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results substantiate the argument that the valence of online consumer reviews impacts the consumers’ purchase decision. That is, positive online consumer reviews will have positive effect on the purchase decision while the negative online consumer reviews impact the buying decision negatively. In addition, consumers are more likely to rely on the online consumer reviews to make the purchase decision for the durable products. For the non-durable products, online consumer review is only a supplemental information source for the purchase decision. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications conclude the remark

THE IMPACTS OF REGULATORY FOCUS AND TEMPORAL DISTANCE ON THE EVALUATION OF ONLINE CONSUMER REVIEWS

As a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), online consumer reviews have attracted increased attention from marketing researchers and practitioners. Given the importance of consumer online reviews in the tourism and apparel industries, the current study examined how contextual factor (temporal distance of consumption) and personal factor (chronic temporal orientation) moderate the effects of regulatory-focused online reviews on consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses. Three web-based experiments were conducted to investigate the conceptual model using athletic shoes (Study1) and hotel (Study 2 and 3). Study 1 showed that participants rated prevention-focused consumer reviews more favorably than promotion-focused consumer reviews when the purchase was temporally proximal. However, their attitudes toward consumer reviews were not significantly different when the purchase was temporally distant. Study 2 found that participants showed more favorable review attitude, brand attitude, and purchase intention when they read promotion-focused consumer reviews than prevention-focused consumer review under the temporally distant consumption. However, the differences between two types of reviews were not significant under the temporally consumption. Furthermore, review relevance fully mediated the effects of the interaction on dependent variables. The results of Study 3 indicated that future-oriented consumers showed more favorable review attitude, brand attitude, and a greater purchase intention when they read promotion-focused consumer reviews than when they read prevention-focused consumer reviews. On the other hand, the present-oriented consumers indicated more favorable brand attitude and a greater purchase intention after reading prevention-focused consumer reviews than after reading promotion-focused consumer reviews. Notably, the results of Study 3 demonstrated that regulatory fit fully mediated the interaction effects on dependent variables. This study will make several theoretical contributions to the literature on regulatory focus theory, construal level theory, and regulatory fit theory by providing empirical evidence of theoretical explanations within the context of online consumer reviews. The findings of the current study will also offer new guidelines for marketers in e-tourism and the apparel industry to segment their target audiences and revamp their product review platforms to suit consumer orientation

PENGARUH VIRAL MARKETING, ONLINE CONSUMER RIVIEWS DAN HARGA TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN SHOPEE DI SURABAYA

Perkembangan teknologi telah membuat pergeseran perilaku berbelanja pelanggan dari toko offline berpindah ke penjualan online di Indonesia, salah satunya ditandai dengan pertumbuhan penjualan online yang sedang mengalami peningkatan secara signifikan. Banyak faktor yang membuat konsumen berpindah dari belanja offline ke online salah satunya adalah Viral marketing, online consumer reviews dan harga. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh Viral marketing, online consumer reviews dan harga terhadap keputusan pembelian Shopee di Surabaya. Sampel penelitian ini sejumlah 104 responden. Variabel bebas terdiri dari variabel Viral marketing, online consumer reviews dan harga, sedangkan variabel terikat dalam penelitian ini adalah keputusan pembelian yang diukur menggunakan analisis regegresi linier berganda. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Viral marketing berpengaruh signifikan terhadap keputusan pembelian. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan bahwa online consumer reviews berpengaruh signifikan terhadap keputusan pembelian. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan harga berpengaruh signifikan terhadap keptusan pembelian. Secara simultan viral maketing, online consumer reviews dan harga berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap keputusan pembelian Shopee di Surabaya. Kata Kunci: Viral marketing, online consumer reviews, harga, keputusan pembelia

PENGARUH ONLINE CONSUMER REVIEWS TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN MENGGUNAKAN LAYANAN BELANJA E-COMMERCE

Konsumen mulai berpandangan bahwa berbelanja online menjadi sebuah cara yang efektif dibandingkan dengan mengunjungi pusat perbelanjaan, selain menghemat waktu konsumen juga dapat mencari informasi yang dibutuhkan sebelum melakukan pembelian dengan memanfaatkan internet. E-commerce menjadi salah satu sarana belanja online yang berkembang dengan cepat, namun tingkat penggunaan layanan belanja e-commerce masih rendah jika dibandingkan dengan penggunaan social media (social commerce) sebagai sarana belanja konsumen. Untuk mengatasi permasalahan tersebut perusahaan penyedia layanan e-commerce perlu memfasilitasi konsumen dalam upayanya mencari informasi produk atau layanan dengan menggunakan online consumer reviews. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk (1) memperoleh temuan mengenai gambaran online consumer reviews konsumen pada e-commerce (2) memperoleh temuan mengenai gambaran keputusan menggunakan layanan e-commerce (3) memperoleh temuan mengenai pengaruh online consumer reviews terhadap keputusan menggunakan layanan e-commerce. Objek dalam penelitian ini adalah konsumen pengguna layanan e-commerce di Indonesia. Variabel eksogen (X) yaitu online consumer reviews sementara variabel endogen (Y) adalah keputusan menggunakan. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif, verifikatif dan metode yang digunakan adalah explanatory survey dengan teknik purposive sampling dengan jumlah sampel sebanyak 405 responden. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah regresi linier sederhana dengan menggunakan bantuan software SPSS 23.0 for windows. Hasil yang diperoleh dalm penelitian menyatakan bahwa online consumer reviews berpengaruh terhadap keputusan menggunakan sebesar 58.8%. Selanjutnya pengaruh variabel lain (epsilon) terhadap keputusan menggunakan sebesar 41.2%. Dari hasil penelitian terhadap pengujian hipotesis dapat diketahui bahwa online consumer reviews memiliki pengaruh positif terhadap keputusan menggunakan layanan belanja e-commerce. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian menggunakan regresi linier sederhana, terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan dari online consumer reviews terhadap keputusan menggunakan layanan belanja e-commerce.;--- Consumers nowadays start to see that online shopping has become an effective way than to visit shopping centre, despite of saving time, consumer also can search informations they need before making a purchase decision using internet. E-commerce has become one of online shopping tools which grow rapidly, however the use of e-commerce services is lower than social media (social commerce) as an online shopping media. To overcome these problems the e-commerce service providers need to facilitating consumers seek for information of products or services using online consumer reviews. This study aims to (1) obtain findings on level of online consumer reviews on e-commerce (2) obtain findings on level of consumer decision of using e-commerce services (3) obtain findings regarding how much influence of online consumer reviews on consumer decision of using e-commerce services. The object of this research is that consumers of e-commerce services in Indonesia. Exogenus variable (X)is online consumer reviews and as endogenus variable (Y) is consumer decision of using e-commerce services. This type of research is descriptive, verificative, and the method used is explanatory survey with purposive sampling technique, with a total sample of 405 respondents. Data analysis technique used in this research is simple regression analysis with help of SPSS 23.0 for windows. Results obtained in the study stated that online consumer reviews effect on decision to use is 58.8% Furthermore, the influence of other variables (epsilon) against the decision to use was 41.2%. From a study of hypothesis testing showed that online consumer reviews has a positive influence on consumer decision of using e-commerce services. Based on the research results through simple regression analysis, the online consumer reviews has a significant influence on consumer decision of using e-commerce services

The effect of online consumer reviews on new product sales : a study of amazon.com

In recent years, online word-of-mouth (WOM) communication in the form of online consumer reviews has become a major information source for consumers planning to purchase a new product. With the help of online reviews, consumers can access diverse opinions from others who have bought or used the new products before making their purchase decisions. This study compares the impact of online reviews on the sales of two types of new products (experience vs. search products) over time, in terms of the volume and valence of online consumer reviews. Using the data collected from Amazon.com over a period of nine months, we find that the volume of online consumer reviews has a greater effect on the new product sales in the late stage of product life cycle (PLC) than in the early stage of PLC. Moreover, the effect of valence of online consumer reviews is greater than that of volume of online consumer reviews. Online negative consumer reviews affect new product sales more than online positive consumer review, but not in a negative way. The results also indicate that the volume and valence of online consumer reviews have greater impact on experience products than search products. The findings suggest that online consumer reviews provide a meaningful decision aid to consumers planning to purchase new products and that online WOM gains momentum over time and significantly affects the sales of new products beyond the initial period. Practitioners need to pay greater attention to online WOM, devise suitable marketing strategies, and promote consumer advocacy to generate positive reviews when they launch new products. They may also incorporate the valuable consumer feedback in the development of new products

Information Overload and its Consequences in the Context of Online Consumer Reviews

An online consumer review is the information including experiences, evaluations and opinions on products from the consumer perspective. An online consumer review plays two roles - informant and recommender. Considering two factors of review structure (the number of reviews and review type), this study analyzes the effect of online consumer reviews on consumers’ information processing depending on their levels of involvement. Generally, more positive reviews seem better from the perspective of online consumer reviews as recommenders. However, from the perspective of online consumer reviews as information providers, consumers may be confronted with too much information when a large number of reviews are offered, which results in information overload. We investigate when information overload occurs in the context of online consumer reviews, what strategies against the information overload consumers use depending on their levels of involvement, and how the product attitude and purchasing intention are changed. Our findings have implications for online sellers in terms of how to manage online consumer reviews contents

eWOM: The Effects of Online Consumer Reviews On Purchasing Decision

Internet has become the primary source of information for a large number of consumers and it has dramatically changed the consumer behaviour. The arrival and expansion of the internet has extended consumers’ options for gathering product information by including other consumers’ comments, posted on the internet, and has provided consumers opportunities to offer their own consumption-related advice by engaging in electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM). The aim of this study is to assess the impact of, one type of e-WOM, the online consumer review, on purchasing decision. This empirical study also focuses on the relationship between reviews and purchasing behaviour. The results show that consumer reviews have a causal impact on consumer purchasing behaviour and they have an effect on choosing the products by consumer. Finally, the results and their implications are discussed

Can a Button Change your Purchase? – The Effect of the Accessibility of Consumer Reviews on Consumers’ Online Purchase Decisions

This study investigates whether the accessibility of consumer reviews matters for consumers’ purchase decisions. Current research does not provide guidance on how to access consumer reviews to improve consumers’ decision-making. Moreover, there is no consensus on the actual implementation of the access (i.e., immediate access or explicit access by clicking) to consumer reviews on existing online shopping websites. Building on the anchoring-and-adjustment model of belief updating and using an experimental approach, we find that requiring participants to explicitly access consumer reviews (by clicking on a button) significantly improves their purchase decisions: When choosing between products of different quality, they better align their perceived product values with the actual product quality. As a result, they are more likely to purchase the high-quality product. These findings provide important insights for e-commerce retailers and policy makers, as they offer guidance on how consumer reviews should be accessible to support consumers’ decision-making

Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com

Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand? I investigate this question using a novel dataset combining reviews from the website Yelp.com and restaurant data from the Washington State Department of Revenue. Because Yelp prominently displays a restaurant's rounded average rating, I can identify the causal impact of Yelp ratings on demand with a regression discontinuity framework that exploits Yelp's rounding thresholds. I present three findings about the impact of consumer reviews on the restaurant industry: (1) a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5% to 9% increase in revenue, (2) this effect is driven by independent restaurants; ratings do not affect restaurants with chain affiliation, and (3) chain restaurants have declined in market share as Yelp penetration has increased. This suggests that online consumer reviews substitute for more traditional forms of reputation. I then test whether consumers use these reviews in a way that is consistent with standard learning models. I present two additional findings: (4) consumers do not use all available information and are more responsive to quality changes that are more visible and (5) consumers respond more strongly when a rating contains more information. Consumer response to a restaurant's average rating is affected by the number of reviews and whether the reviewers are certified as "elite" by Yelp, but is unaffected by the size of the reviewers' Yelp friends network.