Are mobile reviews more credible? Study examines mobile vs. desktop reviews
New study highlights how device type can influence purchase intention
Reviews made by mobile users might be more likely to persuade consumers than reviews from desktop devices.
A new study published in the Journal of Marketing Research suggests mobile reviews may have more influence on purchase intention because it requires more effort to leave a review on a mobile device, and therefore users see these reviews as more credible.
Research participants were divided into groups and shown TripAdvisor reviews for a hotel in New Orleans. The content of the review was identical for all groups, but reviews were identified as “via mobile” for one group and “via desktop” for another group.
Afterwards, participants were asked whether they would consider that hotel if they were staying in New Orleans. Those shown the mobile reviews were more likely to consider staying at that hotel.
Similarly, researchers found in an analysis of Tripadvisor hotel reviews that mobile reviews were more likely to be voted as helpful, which indicated favorable perceptions of the reviews and higher perceived credibility.
In explaining the results, the authors from Dartmouth and Oxford said consumers believe that writing a review on a mobile device requires more physical effort (which if you’re like me and hate typing on a smart phone keyboard, I’d agree completely). They said because of this perceived effort, consumers are more likely to find the review credible and it is more likely to influence purchase behavior.
There has been a significant amount of research in the area of user generated content and electronic work of mouth and how these influence consumer behavior.
But this study is extremely valuable in understanding the biases consumers have when considering online reviews and the inferences they make.
Takeaways
On a practical level, the research has several implications for marketers. In particular, sites that host reviews should consider their strategy for displaying device type of the reviewer.
Also, while it should be assumed that your site is mobile friendly, this may not always be the case. Marketers need to make sure their review platform is not only mobile friendly but has a great user experience on mobile devices.
Businesses should also consider their strategies for encouraging reviews on mobile devices. For example, local businesses could consider opportunities for customers to leave reviews on the spot, rather than targeting reviews long after the point of sale, such as through email marketing.
Because this study suggests there is some variance in how reviews are perceived, this might also justify spending some time to segment your reviews by device type. For example, you could analyze whether more users are leaving reviews on desktop or whether desktop reviews are better or worse overall than mobile reviews.
We all know that mobile is important, but studies like this also reaffirm why it’s important to not just consider mobile users but to really dig deeper and understand how users on different devices interact with your content.
