In a recent survey conducted by the community social media platform LocalCircles, it was revealed that approximately 56 percent of online shoppers felt that ratings on e-commerce sites and apps showed a bias towards positivity over the past year. The findings indicated that only nine percent of e-commerce or online users believed that platforms effectively facilitated the identification of sponsored or influencer reviews and ratings. Additionally, a mere 16 percent of consumers reported that their negative reviews were consistently published in the preceding year.
The survey holds importance as the government contemplates mandating e-commerce companies to adhere to quality standards for consumer reviews. This consideration arises following an unsuccessful voluntary effort to adequately address the issue of fake reviews.
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According to LocalCircles, 56 percent of surveyed online shoppers have observed a positive bias in ratings on e-commerce websites and apps over the past 12 months.
LocalCircles stated that it conducted an extensive national survey to assess the efficacy of voluntary standards for online reviews and ratings, considering ongoing complaints.
“The survey gathered more than 54,000 responses from e-commerce site and app users across 344 districts nationwide,” it disclosed.
Although standards exist to prevent the removal of negative ratings and reviews, the survey unveiled a concerning trend: the percentage of e-commerce users who discovered that their negative ratings and reviews were not consistently published increased from 45 percent to 52 percent over the past 12 months.
Amid the controversy, the survey found that 46 percent of e-commerce users always consulted ratings and reviews when making purchases, while 44 percent referred to them occasionally.
“Despite the controversy, 46 percent of surveyed e-commerce users consistently relied on ratings and reviews when making purchases, while 44 percent referred to them occasionally,” it said.
Additionally, it was noted that only nine percent of surveyed e-commerce users indicated that all e-commerce sites/apps provided an interface for easily identifying sponsored, incentivized, or influencer reviews, while 46 percent stated that no e-commerce platforms had enabled such a feature.
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