Why Customer Reviews Are Important, and Why They Aren’t
This article reports that customers are unhappy that Apple removed a customer reviews feature on their website. This caused some backlash against Apple. as many suspected they did this to remove any negative reviews their products may have been given. According to the article, Apple had some previous issues with negative reviews, but had “cater[ed] their website for negative reviews from its users openly”, even “giving solutions for the users, especially in the issue of their damaged new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.” The fact that Apple chose to do this tells customers that their might be something off about their products, or that they do not have the confidence in their products to garner mostly positive reviews, resulting in Apple losing some credibility.
This relates to what we are learning in class because people use product reviews as a sort of information cascade. Reading feedback from people that have already purchased the product is very valuable when considering whether or not to buy an item. In this information cascade, we are assuming that all people and potential consumers are similar and have similar lifestyles. However, this is not realistically true, so sometimes this cascade can actually be misleading, as two consumers might use a product, like an iPhone, in completely different ways. For example, it would be essential for an Uber driver to have high speed data and access to the Uber app and a navigation service like Google Maps, but for a college student that rarely leaves their campus and the range of on-campus wifi, those needs are not important. Additionally, customer reviews can be misleading as not every purchaser leaves a review; many only leave a review if they are unsatisfied or extremely satisfied with the product, with no in between. As more and more reviews accumulate and the cascade grows longer and longer, those who may have been very satisfied with a product and given a good review may be persuaded against purchasing it after reading negative reviews from user who have different experiences and lifestyles.
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/246134/20191122/apple-rumors-delete-customer-reviews-tab-online-store.htm