The era of online shopping came with its challenges. One of the major areas of concern is the legitimacy of the online vendor and quality of product to be purchased.To overcome these challenges, customer online reviews became necessary. Such reviews can be obtained from various review websites, Online marketplaces, social media and even in the website of the particular online vendor. For instance; Jumia online marketplace has a column for customer rating in stars as well as customer review through comments. This will guide the person who wants to purchase such product online on the overall performance of the seller in the marketplace.
The question now is, “Is online customer reviews to be trusted in purchasing goods online? ” I can vividly recall when a friend of mine who was outside the country met an online car vendor on social media. They started transacting car business based on a sample that caught his attention on his page. According to him, he became convinced after seeing numerous reviews on this “fake vendors” page. He deposited 2 Million Naira to the online vendor who was mounting pressure on him to make commitment before arriving to Nigeria. This he did and later came back to the country only to his greatest surprise to discover that the vendor’s social media page has vanished. Not only this, none of his contact phone numbers could be reached again.
This is not the only way that online customer reviews could be a disadvantage. There are other ways that it could not be beneficial to the buyer when it comes in terms of quality and price of the product to be purchased. Here, we are going to let you know the various reasons why you should not always rely on online customer reviews in Nigeria when purchasing a product online.
Online customer reviews is very important to both the buyer and the online vendor. For the buyer, it shows that a lot of buyers finds the product good if it is a positive one. A negative customer review will indicate a “red flag” most especially when it coming from so many buyers. The vendor on the other hand benefits from positive customer reviews because it boosts his visibility and customer engagements on his products and services. Recommendation of his product will also come from satisfied customers. Negative reviews will only scare customers away from his business and kills his business reputation.
Why You Should not Always Rely on Customer Online Reviews in Nigeria
It can be Autogenerated
Some dishonest online vendors goes about creating fake product reviews in order to market their goods online. They create compelling reviews and ratings with fake product review and ratings Application and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The aim is to convince the buyer that someone finds such products amazing which is not always the case. It also gives their website more recognition and engagements.
Online Vendors join groups that writes fake reviews for each other
This is one thing that happens in the fake online vendors circle. When they fail to get the natural customer reviews they need, they look for other ways to get it. Some of them join groups that engages in commenting or writing reviews in turn in their social media pages or website. Most times, it is advised that you can go further to check for the profiles of those who gave these reviews most especially if it is on social media. Such reviews are always written in favour of the particular online vendor.
Some Online Vendors delete negative customer reviews
At times, when you visit the social media pages or websites of some online vendors, you will only see positive customer reviews on their products. This does not mean that there aren’t customers who were not satisfied with their products or services, it is just that they choose to keep their profiles and comments “clean.” They always keep an eye on negative comments and feedbacks and gets rid of them immediately. This is more common in personal business websites and pages because some popular marketplaces in Nigeria does not give the seller the permission to do so.
They pay review websites to write attractive reviews for them
Some review websites specializes in publishing reviews for online Vendors after collecting money from them. These comments can take the form of satisfied customers who takes the opportunity to express their satisfaction. This is why you should not always rely on such reviews but instead carry out a proper investigation of the nature and price of the product that you want to purchase including the background of the vendor.
A general customer review do not indicate that all the product being sold by the online vendor is “good”
An online vendor may have a 5-star customer rating but it does not necessarily mean that all his products are okay. It is always good to check if the particular product that you want to purchase is good before going ahead with the transaction. Some social media pages may give such ratings, this can be the first point of attraction to the buyer. In the course of navigating through the social media pages or websites, check for the reviews on other products.
The good product maybe changed during the next supply
In order to attract customers, some online vendors kickstart their businesses with original products. This attract buyers to their business and inturn positive customer reviews. After they have achieved their aim, they will start selling substandard products. Don’t rely on existing reviews on any product, crosscheck the product before buying it.
Online Vendors Encourage Families and Friends to Write positive reviews
Apart from joining groups that encourages dropping positive customer reviews in turns, some online vendors encourages their friends and families to write positive reviews about their business on their social media pages and websites.
These are some of the reasons why you should not rely on customers online reviews in Nigeria. This may also be applicable to buying from other online vendors in different parts of the world.
Also Read; Challenges with Online Shopping in Nigeria
Tips for Buying the Right Product in an Online Store in Nigeria