The Free Press Journal

56% of online shoppers found ratings on eComm sites to be positively biased: LocalCircl­es survey

PTI

Nearly 56 per cent of online shoppers surveyed by community social media platform LocalCircl­es said they found ratings on the eCommerce sites and apps to be positively biased over the last 12 months, according to survey findings.

Only nine per cent of eCommerce or online users said platforms have enabled an interface to easily spot sponsored or influencer reviews and ratings, while just 16 per cent of consumers felt their negative reviews were always published in the last year.

The survey assumes significan­ce given that the government is considerin­g making it mandatory for e-commerce companies to comply with quality norms for consumer reviews after a voluntary push failed to effectivel­y curb fake reviews. "...56 per cent of online shoppers surveyed byLocalCir­cles...say they have found ratings on the eCommerce sites/ apps to be positively biased in the last 12 months," according to a release by LocalCircl­es.

LocalCircl­es said it conducted a comprehens­ive national survey to find out how effective voluntary standards for online reviews and ratings have been, given persistent complaints.

"The survey received over 54,000 responses from users of eCommerce sites and apps located in over 344 districts of the country," it disclosed.

Despite the standards that prohibit deletion of negative ratings and reviews, the percentage of eCommerce users who found that their negative ratings and reviews were not always published has risen from 45 per cent to 52 per cent in the last 12 months, the survey revealed.