Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2020.1865179
The impact of online reviews on e-commerce sales in India: a case study
Mithun S. Ullal
Cristi Spulbar
Iqbal Thonse Hawaldar
Virgil Popescu
Ramona Birau
Abstract
Customers can choose to buy products online without certain
sensory experiences, such as touching, smelling or tasting.
Consequently, product reviews are extremely important to implement online marketing strategies. While reviews can influence
customers’ purchase decisions, how they affect the decisions of
potential consumers in the case of a growing emerging economy
such as India has hitherto not been studied. Positive and negative
reviews affect the way customers understand and interpret product information. This study provides multiple methods to identify
the relationship between reviews and customer decisions in the
case of tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 Indian cities. The outcomes in tier
1 cities (n ¼ 1200) reveal that reviews have a positive effect on
buying decisions. Our empirical findings suggest that online
reviews affect consumer attitudes and can significantly influence
e-commerce sales in India.
Keywords
Buying decision; price; customer behaviour; e-commerce portals; self-construal; emotion
Hrčak ID:
301364
URI
Publication date:
31.12.2021.
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