Product reviews are the democratic lifeblood of e-commerce. Though almost every major online retailer offers some sort of feedback system for their products, the quality and features of these systems vary. The best sites allow for two types of feedback - a star rating and a review. Reviewers can often use half star values up to 5, then write a review with a title. These features, though not universal, are fairly standard.
There are two features that certain websites utilize that set their review systems a cut above the rest. First, certain websites allow anyone who owns a product to review that product on their website. Sometimes, registering an email address is required to access the review submitter, but anyone can do it. On the other hand, web stores like Amazon require you to have purchased the product from their site to review it. With this system in order, Amazon is missing out on very valuable input from customers in a scenario something like this.
Suppose a Bob purchased a TV from Sears because the salesperson told him it would be the "last TV he ever bought". After the warranty expires, the screen becomes blurry due to shoddy construction. Hunting for a higher quality TV on Amazon, Bob ends up with a Sony. After several trouble-free months with the TV, he logs on to review the set. He notices they offer his former crappy model and wishes to review it as well as his wonderful Sony. This would be very beneficial for Amazon. It would allow Bob to share his journey toward the Sony, berate his former model - and most importantly - cajole customers toward a higher quality, higher-priced, more satisfying model.
In a democratic online shopping environment, it strikes me that budget shoppers as well as Sony shoppers should be entitled to this information, yet Bob can't share his opinion on the low end TV's project page.
No comments:
Post a Comment