Following the announcement of an investigation into online reviews by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), a new survey by Aura Corporation has shown that eight out of ten UK retailers (79 percent) have no way for customers to publically rate and review their service online – and a third (33 percent) don’t even have a system in place for public reviews of the products they sell.
In addition, almost half (40 percent) of those that do offer a product review/rating system use an in-house embedded system, which makes it easier for people to leave fake reviews than with one that’s independently verified.
The analysis looked at the websites of 52 of the biggest UK high street retailers specialising in high-value items – computers, electrical & white goods, furniture and department stores. These are purchases where reviews and ratings can be most valuable to consumers when checking delivery and aftersales service.
Managing director of Aura Corporation, Mike Trotman, said: “Online reviews and five-star ratings systems are commonplace when you buy a car or go on holiday, but for other big consumer expenditures it seems there’s a notable lack of opportunity for public commentary. You might not check reviews before buying a tube of toothpaste, but you’ll probably want to before committing hundreds of pounds on a new fridge.
“Considering how online retailers like Amazon and eBay are built around their review systems, UK retailers seem to be behind the curve in their digital presence. In particular, very few allow customers to rate the service experience – either in-store or online – which is just as important as price to many shoppers.
“This also means retailers have no way to analyse the reviews to see where their service needs to improve. They could be losing customers to a poor experience and have no idea what’s happening and why.
“Equally, the lack of independent verification among many retailers could come back to haunt them in light of the CMA investigation. Independent verification is the best way to shut down fake reviews and endorsements and makes the service trustworthy: when the customer feedback is verified, shoppers know that each review is genuine.”
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