Online user reviews

Fake reviews for online purchases

In October 2020 the Bundeskartellamt presented the results of its sector inquiry into online user reviews. The sector inquiry mainly focused on the background to fake or manipulated reviews for online purchases. In the course of its investigations, the Bundeskartellamt had surveyed more than 60 major internet platforms publishing user reviews in 16 different sectors and had asked a large number of other market players to comment on this matter.

Results

• User reviews – a key factor for users purchasing online

User reviews play a key part in helping consumers make a decision when shopping online. Products and services which have been given many and positive reviews sell far better than those with few or negative reviews. It is therefore useful for providers to actively work towards getting as many and as positive reviews as possible. And as long as these reviews are real, there is nothing wrong with that. However, when dubious providers write fake reviews, or have others write them, they are deceiving consumers.

• Too few real reviews – too many fakes

In many sectors there are too few real reviews. Fake reviews, on the other hand, are more common than we think. For example, there are service providers that specialise in selling positive reviews. For this purpose, users often receive free products or other rewards in return for positive reviews. It is also possible to use software, so-called bots, to artificially generate reviews.

• Spotting fake reviews is difficult

Users should be aware that it is not uncommon to find fake reviews online. Identifying them, however, is far from easy. But there are a few signs you can look out for, such as overblown language or recurring patterns. It is advisable to read as many different reviews as possible and to look carefully at the information provided by some platforms about the authors of each review.

• Providers and platforms can do something

Providers and platforms can do something to encourage people to write real reviews. If these are good reviews, all the better. This may be achieved through incentives like vouchers, raffles or small amounts of money. Especially with regard to new products, free product testing could prove useful. Such incentives and product tests are in line with consumer protection law if the reviews in question are clearly and explicitly labelled. However, platforms would – in contrast to current practice – have to allow this type of reviews to be published on their websites and label such reviews properly.

At the same time, platforms are required to do more to combat fake reviews. The investigation showed that so far, most platforms merely used word filters or relied on the reporting of suspicious reviews after publication. Only few individual platforms already applied sophisticated machine-learning methods, made use of the meta data of the review’s author or checked the authenticity of reviews in advance in order to effectively combat fake reviews.

How do you shop online? Fake reviews on the web

Video sharing consumer tips on how to deal with user reviews (in German only)