56% of online shoppers experienced positively biased ratings on eComm sites: Report

Nearly 56 percent of online shoppers found ratings on eCommerce sites and apps to be positively biased over the last year, as per a survey conducted by the community social media platform LocalCircles. The survey findings indicate that only nine percent of eCommerce or online users feel that platforms have provided an interface to easily identify sponsored or influencer reviews and ratings. Additionally, just 16 percent of consumers believe that their negative reviews were consistently published in the past year.

The survey gains importance as the government mulls over enforcing quality standards for consumer reviews on e-commerce platforms. This comes after a voluntary initiative fell short in curbing fake reviews effectively. According to LocalCircles, "56 percent of online shoppers surveyed...found ratings on eCommerce sites/apps to be positively biased in the last 12 months.

LocalCircles conducted a nationwide survey to assess the effectiveness of voluntary standards for online reviews and ratings, considering ongoing complaints. The survey amassed over 54,000 responses from eCommerce users across 344 districts in India. Despite standards prohibiting the deletion of negative ratings and reviews, the survey found that the percentage of users experiencing issues with their negative feedback not being published has increased from 45 percent to 52 percent in the past year.

The survey highlighted that despite the controversy, 46 percent of eCommerce users always referred to ratings and reviews when making purchases, while 44 percent did so occasionally. Additionally, only nine percent of surveyed users stated that all eCommerce platforms provided an interface to easily identify sponsored, incentivized, or influencer reviews. Conversely, 46 percent of respondents mentioned that no eCommerce platforms offered such an interface.