Investigating the prevalence and impact of fake reviews
This research investigates the prevalence of fake reviews on UK e-commerce platforms and assesses the impact and subsequent harm they can have on UK consumers.
Documents
Details
The report contains a detailed description of the methodology, important findings, limitations and policy implications of the study.
A fake review is a review of a product or service which does not reflect a genuine experience of that product or service and has been designed to mislead consumers.
This research estimates the prevalence of fake reviews on popular UK e-commerce platforms, the impact they have on consumer decision making and the detriment caused to consumers as a result.
It found that:
- 11% to 15% of all reviews on e-commerce platforms for 3 common product categories (consumer electronics, home and kitchen, sports and outdoors) are likely fake
- well-written fake reviews distort consumer decision making - consumers were 3.1% more likely to purchase a product with well-written fake reviews
- fake reviews had a greater impact on consumer behaviour for consumer electronics and higher-priced products, and in particular consumers were 9.2% more likely to purchase a product with well-written fake reviews if the product price was greater than £80
- fake review text on products alone causes an estimated £50 million to £312 million in total yearly harm to UK consumers
These findings will be of most interest to:
- government departments responsible for consumer protection regulation
- consumer law enforcement bodies
- consumer advice and advocate organisations
- relevant academics
Limitations
This study estimates the prevalence and impact of fake review text on consumer products alone. Therefore, these findings do not extend to services purchased online nor do they account for the impact of inflated star ratings. As a result, the true consumer detriment caused by fake reviews is likely to be higher.