I’m really not sure what I think about this, so I’d love to discuss with you on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or wherever…
As I write this, it’s Thanksgiving Week in the United States, which means millions of people will spend billions of dollars on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and will temporarily say things like “doorbusters” without a trace of embarrassment.
As is the national custom, for almost every conceivable product there are approximately 1,417 competing brands and variations, making the actual purchase process an informational Spartan Race.
Hick’s Law states that the more choices we are faced with, the time necessary to make a selection goes up, not down. Increasingly, we try to shortcut this Paradox of Choice by consulting online reviews.
I’ve written extensively here on the power of online reviews, and the subject is a major component of my book, Hug Your Haters. Fundamentally, we trust online reviews.
Oft-cited research by BrightLocal suggests that 80% of customers trust at least some online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from a friend or family member.
And this isn’t just about e-commerce. Fully half of all in-store purchases start by r… Read More