Following the herd: The influence of the bandwagon heuristic on e-commerce shoppers

TL;DR

This study investigates how review metrics and consumer perceptions influence e-commerce shopping decisions through experiments on review scores, involvement, and valence.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how review scores and their interaction with other factors affect bandwagon perceptions and purchase intentions.

Findings

Review scores influence shopping decisions

Interaction effects impact bandwagon perceptions

Consumer purchase intentions are affected by review valence

Abstract

This research study examined how the number of reviews, review scores product involvement, and product review valence affect consumers' shopping decisions. Specifically, two online experiments were conducted to examine how product review scores interact with the number of reviews, product involvement, and review valence in affecting bandwagon perceptions and purchase intention. A mock website that displays products and product review metrics was constructed for the purpose of the research. The findings suggest that product review scores, and their interaction with product involvement and review valence, influenced consumers' shopping decisions.