You may have noticed that more and more online retailers are incorporating customer reviews into their product descriptions. But what exactly are product reviews, and how do they help you purchase the best products? In short, customer reviews are user-generated content that provides feedback about a product or service. The best product review can be helpful when you’re trying to decide whether or not to purchase a product.
What are product reviews?
Product reviews are user-generated content that provides feedback about a product or service. This feedback can be helpful when you’re trying to decide whether or not to purchase a product. Customer reviews can be found on many different websites, including online retailers, social media platforms, and consumer review websites.
Product reviews provide an unbiased opinion about a product or service from people who have actually used it. Because reviews are written by real people, they offer an authentic perspective that you may not get from the company’s marketing materials. Additionally, because customer reviews are user-generated, they come at no cost to the company—making them an invaluable resource for shoppers on a budget.
Not all customer reviews are created equal, however. It’s important to take each review with a grain of salt and consider the reviewer’s credibility. Amazon product reviews, for example, are written by verified purchasers only, which adds a layer of authenticity. Some review websites do not require any authentication making them less reliable.
When reading product reviews, pay attention to the following:
- The reviewer’s credibility
- The date of the review
- The number of reviews
- The star rating
How Product Reviews Help You Make Purchasing Decisions
Customer reviews can be extremely helpful when you’re trying to make a purchasing decision—but only if you know how to use them effectively. Here are a few tips:
- Read the entire review: Don’t just skim the review for the positive (or negative) highlights. Reading the entire review will give you a more well-rounded perspective on the product or service in question.
- See what other customers are saying: In addition to reading individual reviews, take some time to see what other customers are saying about the product or service as a whole. Are most of the reviews positive? Negative? somewhere in between?
- Compare apples to apples: When you’re reading customer reviews, it’s important to compare apples to apples—or products with similar features and price points. For example, don’t compare a luxury car to a economy car—you wouldn’t expect them to have the same features or performance levels, so it wouldn’t make sense to compare them side-by-side.
- Take your time: Don’t rushes your decision! If you can wait until you have time to read several different reviews, that’s ideal. The more information you have, the better equipped you’ll be to make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase a particular product.
Conclusion
Customer reviews can be helpful when you don’t know whether or not to buy something. They provide an opportunity for someone else who has used the product/service before to give their opinion on it which can help guide your decision-making process. That being said, not all customer reviews are created equal – some people may be biased, some might be paid by the company to write good/bad things about it, etc – so take everything with a grain of salt and try to get multiple perspectives before making your final decision.
