Reviews · Meta-analysis
Exploring the Influence of Online Reviews and Motivating Factors on Sales: A Meta-analytic Study and the Moderating Role of Product Category
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · 2020
Summary
Looking across the studies, product-category moderation.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
A second synthesis supporting a context-dependent view of reviews. Check whether your SaaS category and buyer risk resemble the products represented before applying an effect.
Reported result
What the study found
The analysis found product-category moderation. Review length and special shipping were the factors reported as not significantly affecting sales; other analyzed review-related factors showed significant relationships.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Which online-review features relate to product sales, and does product category moderate those relationships?
Design
Meta-analysis of 28 studies on online reviews and sales.
Sample and setting
Prior empirical studies across online product-review settings; the abstract does not report a pooled observation count.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
The authors note that database choice and search terms may have omitted relevant studies, and the synthesis depends on the quality and reporting of included literature.
Research sources
ScienceDirect publisher abstract retrieved with Firecrawl; limitations were extracted from the abstract page text.