Consumer reviews were once among the most dependable methods for gauging the quality of an app or a physical product. If you lacked personal recommendations from friends, the volume of reviews and the average star rating served as a reliable benchmark.
Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Companies have become highly skilled at manipulating these systems, meaning reviews carry far less weight than they once did. There are now six reasons you should be skeptical of them, including one I only discovered today.
The most unscrupulous developers and e-commerce firms frequently resort to outright fraud. They utilize server farms to automatically download apps or purchase items, subsequently submitting five-star ratings.
These are sometimes easy to identify because the feedback is incredibly generic, featuring comments like “good product” or “best app.” However, more sophisticated operations now use AI to generate longer, more specific text.
Some businesses compensate individuals to post favorable reviews. This is particularly prevalent with free-to-download apps, but even with expensive hardware, the arrangement often involves a consumer being instructed to purchase the item first, with a promise of a refund once a five-star review is posted.
Genuine buyers may be offered rewards for leaving a review, such as free subscription time or discounts on future orders. The mere fact that consumers receive something in return tends to bias them toward positive feedback. Furthermore, discounts on future purchases only appeal to those already satisfied with the company, effectively filtering out those who are not.
Some apps feature a pop-up inviting you to review the product, but if you indicate any dissatisfaction, you are directed to a separate link for customer service. In this way, only satisfied users are prompted to post public reviews, while unhappy customers are handled privately.
Nearly every major company—including Apple and Amazon—allows businesses to pay for prominent placement within app categories or search results.
This not only ensures these products appear before other, potentially superior options, but this visibility also drives more downloads, which in turn generates more reviews. This distorts the utility of review counts as a metric for your purchasing decisions.
I thought I was familiar with all the tactics companies use to manipulate their ratings, but a piece from TNW highlighted one I had not encountered.
Some businesses send out a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey to gauge your sentiment by asking, “How likely are you to recommend us?” If you provide a rating of 9 or 10, you are immediately prompted to post a public review. If you provide a lukewarm or low score, the feedback form simply thanks you without ever mentioning a review. Only the happiest customers receive the gentle nudge to “Share your experience!” This practice is so widespread it has been dubbed “review gating.”
Consumer reviews can still be useful, but it is worth reading them critically and seeking out professional assessments on websites you trust.
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