In recent years, rating systems have become firmly established on online platforms. Every day, millions of customer reviews of products, services, institutions or actors are published on Amazon, eBay, Google, Facebook or airbnb. Today, users of online services can rate almost anything and anyone. For your customers, customer reviews are an important guide when making decisions and can create trust.
The problem
However, fake customer reviews are widespread and, according to a sector analysis by the German Federal Cartel Office and other experts, are likely to increase in volume.
Fake reviews are reviews that are either posted illegally on the platforms themselves or via third parties, usually without a real transaction having taken place. The problem of fake reviews also seems to have intensified during the Covid-19 pandemic as online markets became even more important.
Customer trust and feedback system – How to earn top customer ratings with JTL-Shop
Your customers rely on the reviews and cannot always distinguish between real and fake reviews. If fake reviews continue to increase, this can destroy trust in review systems in the long term. Of course, this can also have a negative impact on sales figures.
Find solutions
This is precisely where the “FakeInDigitalMarkets” project comes in, which is funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and is made up of researchers from Clausthal University of Technology, HSU Hamburg and the University of Cologne.
The “FakeInDigitalMarkets” project focuses on analyzing how, when and to what extent fake customer reviews are used and what impact they have. On the other hand, we are developing and reviewing measures to reduce the number of fake customer reviews and their negative effects.
One component of the project is a survey of online retailers – you. In cooperation with JTL, we want to find out more about the relevance of fake customer reviews from those affected. We also want to develop possible solutions against fake customer reviews based on your answers.
Help tackle the problem of fake customer reviews!
Please take a few minutes to take part in our survey on online review systems and fake reviews. The aim is to develop tools to avoid or reduce fake customer reviews. We will then make the results of the survey and our findings available to you.
One thing is certain: customer reviews are very important nowadays, create trust and can have a major influence on purchasing behavior. Good customer relationships help you to be successful. However, since negative fake reviews are always a problem and can damage your hard-earned customer relationships, a better understanding of fake reviews is extremely important. This is where you come in! Help us to improve our understanding of fake reviews and develop solutions.
Thank you very much for your help!
