Why do people read reviews posted on consumer-opinion portals?

Abstract

Consumer reviews are accessible to a huge number of readers online, and thus this electronic word of mouth can affect product performance. This research uses template analysis of readers' stories and interviews to identify themes related to the reading of opinions on review websites (consumer-opinion portals), and within these themes, specific consumer motivations for reading other consumers' reviews. In doing so, it validates reading motivations identified by Hennig-Thurau and Walsh (2003), but finds that they do not encompass all motives for reading UK consumer-opinion-portal content. This study helps marketers to decide how to influence and encourage consumers positively to read about their products and what information they should provide. The research was conducted with users of the online opinion platform, ciao.co.uk.

Keywords:

• Internet
• electronic word of mouth
• consumer-opinion portals
• customer reviews
• customer-to-customer interaction
• ciao.co.uk

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Professors Sandeep Krishnamurthy, Mike Solomon, Peter McGoldrick and Phil Stern, Mr. Ray Poynter from Virtual Surveys, attendees at a BAM workshop and the CRIS ideas development forum, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and insightful comments. The authors thank the management team of ciao.co.uk for helping to organise the data sets used in this research, for granting access to their members, and for co-funding the research. They acknowledge the efforts of Richard Thornton, Katherine Allan, Tom Meyritz, and Viviane Szackamer for their support of this research project.