Frontiers | Reviewers’ Identity Cues in Online Product Reviews and Consumers’ Purchase Intention

Reviewers’ Identity Cues in Online Product Reviews and Consumers’ Purchase Intention

This research conducts three experiments to explore how identity cues within product reviews influence consumer purchase intentions and to assess the impact of reference groups. The findings demonstrate that: (1) identity cues in positive reviews significantly boost purchase intention, while those in negative reviews have a notable negative effect; furthermore, identity cues tend to amplify the impact of negative reviews more strongly than positive ones; (2) emotional social support acts as a mediator between reviewer identity cues and purchase intention, whereas informational social support and review credibility serve as significant mediators only in scenarios involving entirely positive reviews; and (3) identity cues linked to dissociative groups negatively affect purchase intention, while cues associated with in-groups or aspirational groups have a positive influence. These results expand upon existing literature regarding online reviews and provide practical guidance for e-commerce platforms and merchants managing product feedback.

Product reviews serve as a vital information source for consumers when making purchasing decisions. Previous studies have indicated that disclosing a reviewer’s characteristics—such as personal identity, expertise, and reputation—can enhance the perceived usefulness of online reviews. When consumers use identity-descriptive information to supplement or replace product details, it becomes a key factor in their assessment of a review’s helpfulness. An analysis of secondhand data from the Amazon book community found that reviewer disclosure of identity information is a positive predictor of future sales. In practice, businesses often assume that reviews from individuals with ambiguous identities will lower consumer trust and diminish the persuasive power of the feedback. However, reviews with vague identity information are not always less persuasive than those with clear details. Based on the concept of egocentric anchoring, researchers have found that when consumers lack specific information, they automatically “fill in” the blanks regarding a reviewer’s identity with their own details, which can make them more persuaded by ambiguous reviewers than by those they perceive as dissimilar.

The identity disclosures mentioned in previous studies have typically been direct and explicit. However, reviewers are often hesitant to share personal information due to privacy concerns. Beyond direct statements, reviews frequently contain words or phrases that do not explicitly state an identity but allow one to be indirectly inferred, making the reviewer’s image more vivid. For example, a review of chocolate stating, “sweetness is moderate, my daughter likes to eat,” does more than describe the taste; the mention of “my daughter” allows the reader to infer that the reviewer is a parent. We define these as identity cues in product reviews.

Unlike explicit identity information, these cues involve subjective inferences drawn from the text. In reality, it is common for reviewers to voluntarily provide personal details through these cues when sharing their experiences with products or services, which creates a more authentic reading experience for consumers. Using an online crawler, we obtained 65,740 reviews across 36 product categories—including food, fitness, electronics, books, and daily necessities—from JD.COM, a major Chinese online retailer. Approximately 23% of these reviews, totaling 15,122, contained identity cues, primarily regarding occupation and family status. This data confirms that consumers frequently include identity cues in their reviews, allowing others to infer their age, occupation, and family background.

When making online purchases, consumers intentionally consult the reviews of previous buyers. They also tend to seek opinions from different types of people depending on the product. For instance, when purchasing computers, consumers are more likely to consider the choices of similar individuals, such as those with comparable consumption levels or personalities. Conversely, when buying jewelry, they may prioritize the choices of those at a higher social level. Furthermore, in the context of long-distance communication within virtual spaces, recognizing identity cues can become a key basis for establishing and maintaining social connections, making the interaction feel as though it is with a “real” person. Therefore, we infer that identity cues in reviews exert an influence on purchase intention similar to that of explicit identity disclosure.

This research explores these dynamics. Specifically, we examine the effect of identity cues on purchase intention, the underlying mechanisms, and whether these effects vary across different reference groups. This study complements existing research on online reviews and offers valuable insights for e-commerce platforms and merchants looking to improve their review management strategies and increase sales.

Product reviews function as both buyer feedback and advice for potential customers. By sharing opinions and interacting in the comment section, consumers form an online social community. Reviews provide product information, but they also convey details about the person providing the feedback. Previous research indicates that direct disclosure of personal information positively impacts purchase intention. Since identity cues are another form of information disclosure, it is reasonable to speculate that they have a similar effect on consumer behavior.

In online shopping, the two most common scenarios involve either all positive reviews or a mix of positive and negative feedback. When reviews convey different valences, people tend to focus more on the negative ones. Existing literature shows that negative reviews are more salient than positive ones and have a greater impact on consumer decisions. Consumers often perceive the expression of negative emotions as more persuasive and the description of product conditions as more accurate, which helps them mitigate purchase risks.

Based on this, we infer that identity cues in positive reviews will enhance the positive effect on purchase intention, while identity cues in negative reviews will amplify the negative impact. Furthermore, given the asymmetric influence of negative information, the promotional effect of identity cues in positive reviews is likely weaker than the detrimental effect of those in negative reviews. Thus, we propose the following hypothesis:

H1: Identity cues amplify the impact of product reviews on consumers’ purchase intention. Specifically, compared to reviews without identity cues, those with cues in positive reviews increase purchase intention, while those with cues in negative reviews decrease it.

Review credibility is a significant factor in the influence of feedback. A reviewer’s identity, authority, and trustworthiness all shape how credible an online review is perceived to be. Identity cues allow consumers to form an association with the reviewer’s image, which can lead to the review being viewed as a more credible source of information. This study assumes that personal reviews containing identity cues help readers feel they are receiving a more authentic account, thereby improving the review’s credibility. Highly credible reviews are more persuasive and better at promoting purchase intention. Therefore, we propose:

H2: Review credibility mediates the relationship between identity cues and purchase intention.

Social support is generally defined as assistance provided by someone with whom the recipient has an interpersonal relationship, such as family, friends, or colleagues. These relationships are rooted in social interaction and can be virtual, imagined, or real. Social support also exists in online environments, which have become increasingly important channels for both receiving and providing such support. This support typically takes two forms in cyberspace: informational support, which includes useful advice and recommendations, and emotional support, which involves encouragement and care. Online social support can reduce psychological distress and improve well-being. The experience of positive emotions can, in turn, influence purchase intention.

Identity cues are a prerequisite for forming a sense of social connection and perceiving support in a virtual environment. They make consumers feel as though they are interacting with “real people,” which enhances their perception of support. On one hand, identity cues help consumers receive emotional support by reading reviews. On the other hand, these cues shorten the subjective distance between the consumer and the reviewer, making the consumer more likely to accept the reviewer’s informational support regarding the product. We therefore assume that the sense of social support gained from such reviews will increase purchase intention.

H3: Social support (emotional and informational) mediates the relationship between identity cues and purchase intention.

Reference groups are individuals or groups that consumers consider when making purchasing decisions. Based on the level of social identification, these groups are categorized as in-groups or out-groups, with out-groups further divided into aspirational and dissociative groups. Previous studies have shown that consumer choices are influenced by these groups. Consumers prefer products endorsed by aspirational groups and feel a stronger connection to brands that align with their in-group. Conversely, they often show negative reactions toward products associated with dissociative groups.

Consumers desire to establish psychological connections with positively perceived reference groups. Identity cues in online reviews allow consumers to identify a reviewer’s social information and infer their group affiliation. Through this process, consumers can connect with aspirational groups to improve their self-image, establish ties with in-groups to enhance group attachment, or distance themselves from dissociative groups. We therefore propose:

H4a: Reviews containing identity cues from in-groups and aspirational groups positively affect purchase intention.

H4b: Reviews containing identity cues from dissociative groups negatively affect purchase intention.

We conducted three studies to test these hypotheses. Study 1 examined the impact of identity cues on purchase intention and the mediating roles of social support and review credibility. Study 2 further investigated the difference in how identity cues amplify the impact of positive versus negative reviews. Study 3 explored how identity cues from in-groups, aspirational groups, and dissociative groups differentially affect purchase intention.

The experiments were designed as shopping tasks where participants read product reviews and then indicated their purchase intention. Before the experiments, we conducted two pilot studies to determine the appropriate number of reviews to present.

In a 50-person test, 88% of participants indicated they would consult product reviews after browsing product information. By observing their shopping behavior, we found that those using a computer interface typically read an average of 30 reviews. Consequently, we decided to use 30 reviews in our experiments.

To determine the number of negative reviews, we conducted a 30-minute experiment with 50 college students. Participants were asked to search for five specific products on a computer. Among 235 search instances, 233 involved browsing the review interface. We found that 30.9% of participants exited the product page after seeing three negative reviews, and 12.4% exited after seeing four or more. Based on these results, we determined that three negative reviews were sufficient to simulate a partial negative review scenario.

To avoid biases related to specific product target groups, we selected common, widely applicable items such as electric toothbrushes, portable juicers, water cups, and coffee. The products for each experiment were randomly selected from this collection, and the reviews were

Study 1 examined the impact of identity cues on purchase intention and the mediating roles of social support and review credibility. We recruited 416 participants in China via the Credamo survey platform. Participants were randomly assigned to a 2 (scenarios: all positive vs. partial negative) × 2 (identity cues: present vs. absent) between-subjects design. After reading product information and reviews, participants answered irrelevant questions to ensure engagement before measuring their purchase intention, social support, and review credibility on a 7-point Likert scale.

We measured emotional and informational social support by adapting existing scales to the context of online reviews. Review credibility was measured using a three-item scale. As shown in Table 3, Cronbach’s alpha for all variables exceeded 0.8, indicating high internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the measurement model met all standard fitting requirements, demonstrating good structural validity.

The results of the variance analysis yielded three key findings. First, there was no significant difference in purchase intention among the four groups before reading the reviews. Second, in the all-positive review scenario, purchase intention was higher when identity cues were present. Third, in the partial negative review scenario, purchase intention was lower when identity cues were present. This indicates that identity cues significantly amplify the negative impact of negative reviews.

Bootstrap mediation tests under the all-positive scenario showed that identity cues have a significant direct effect on purchase intention. The mediating effects of emotional social support, informational social support, and review credibility were all significant. The indirect effects occurred through two pathways: identity cues leading to social support, and identity cues leading to review credibility, both of which then influenced purchase intention.

In the partial negative review scenario, the mediating effect of emotional social support was significant, while the effects of informational social support and review credibility were not. The presence of identity cues in negative reviews led to a decrease in emotional social support, which in turn lowered purchase intention. While identity cues increased the perceived credibility of negative reviews, this did not significantly alter purchase intention, likely because consumers tend to trust negative reviews regardless of whether identity cues are present.

Study 2 was designed to further examine the amplification effect of identity cues in positive versus negative reviews within a partial negative review scenario. We recruited 292 participants in Chinaty cues appearing only in positive reviews, only in negative reviews, no identity cues, and identity cues in both. We used juicers and toothpaste as the products and followed the same procedure as in Study 1

Before reading the reviews, there were no significant differences in purchase intention among the four groups. After reading, we found that purchase intention was higher when identity cues appeared only in positive reviews compared to the no-cue condition. Conversely, purchase intention was lower when identity cues appeared only in negative reviews. When identity cues were present in both positive and negative reviews, the overall purchase intention was lower than in the no-cue condition. These results confirm that identity cues amplify the impact of reviews, with the negative impact of cues in negative reviews being particularly pronounced.

Study 3 examined the influence of identity cues from in-groups, aspirational groups, and dissociative groups on purchase intention. We used a single-factor design with four conditions: in-group, aspirational group, dissociative group, and no identity cue. We selected neck massagers, coffee, and perfume as products, and all 30 reviews provided were positive. We recruited 495 college students in China for this experiment.

There was no significant difference in purchase intention among the groups before reading the reviews. After reading, we found that purchase intention was higher when reviews contained identity cues from in-groups or aspirational groups compared to the no-cue condition. Conversely, purchase intention was lower when reviews contained identity cues from dissociative groups. There was no significant difference in the impact between in-group and aspirational group cues. These results confirm that the influence of identity cues is moderated by the reference group.

This study confirms that reviewers’ identity cues amplify the impact of product reviews on purchase intention. The amplification effect of identity cues in negative reviews is stronger than in positive reviews, which can lead to a net negative influence in scenarios containing negative feedback. We also verified the mediating roles of emotional social support and review credibility. Consumers look for “real person” reviews to confirm their decisions, and identity cues enhance the perception of social support and credibility. Furthermore, we found that the influence of these cues is moderated by the reference group, with in-group and aspirational group cues having a positive impact, while dissociative group cues have a negative one.

This research contributes to the literature on identity disclosure in online shopping. We expand the understanding of information disclosure by focusing on voluntary, indirect identity cues rather than explicit displays. This study provides a new perspective on how such cues affect consumer behavior and the boundary conditions of these effects. Additionally, we enrich the literature on online social support and the influence of reference groups.

Our findings offer important marketing implications. E-commerce platforms and merchants should encourage communication between reviewers and potential consumers to improve community cohesion. Providing review templates can help guide buyers to express themselves more deeply. Furthermore, merchants should prioritize the management of negative reviews. To mitigate the magnifying effect of identity cues on negative feedback, merchants should address these reviews promptly. They could also use labeling or ranking systems to help consumers navigate toward reviews from in-groups or aspirational groups while deprioritizing those from dissociative groups.

This study has limitations that suggest directions for future research. First, although we minimized demand effects, some participants may have inferred the purpose of the experiment. Future designs could improve upon this. Second, individual personality traits and cognitive processes, such as attachment style or regulatory focus, likely influence how consumers respond to identity cues. Third, the impact of review length and the total number of reviews on psychological energy and perceived usefulness could be further explored. Finally, the regulatory effect of product type—such as search versus experience products—warrants further investigation.

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors, and the reviewers. Any product evaluated in this article or claims made by its manufacturer are not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethical review and approval were not required for this study on human participants in accordance with local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent was not required in accordance with national legislation and institutional requirements.

JL and XL designed the study and wrote the protocol. XL was responsible for data collection under the supervision of JL. XL conducted the statistical analyses and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Both authors edited subsequent drafts and approved the final manuscript.

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 71972196), the MOE Project of Humanities and Social Sciences (grant number 18YJA630051), and the Program for Innovation Research in Central University of Finance and Economics. The funding bodies had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

We would like to thank all the participants in the experiments, the editor, and the reviewers for their rigorous and helpful comments, which enriched the quality of this research.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.784173/full#supplementary-material