You see an affordable product with thousands of reviews and an average rating of at least four stars. Add to cart?
Maybe, maybe not.
As shoppers browse the numerous sales events happening during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and again during Boxing Day, customer reviews online can play a crucial role in purchasing decisions.
While pooling together customers’ experiences is “an extremely democratic mechanism,” the pool has been tainted, said Shreyas Sekar, assistant professor of operations management at University of Toronto Scarborough.
“Unfortunately, the fact is, because reviews are so important for consumers, they’re also super important for sellers,” he said, “which means there is always a risk that someone’s going to game the system.”…