This is how govt wants to curb fake reviews!

If 20-25 people write ‘excellent’ for a mixer grinder on an online shopping platform, and the rating doesn’t drop below 4.5 out of 5 stars, everyone praises it. So, when you’re making a purchase, you’ll definitely be influenced by such a review.

When you buy a product online, you read its reviews to know more about it. But these reviews often involve significant deception. Companies manipulate substandard products by publishing fake reviews to push consumers.

Fake reviews are also called ‘astroturfing’. Ratings and reviews of products are manipulated on e-commerce company websites to sell products.

People are hired to write fake reviews. Positive reviews are posted via fake accounts.

Even customers are tempted to write positive reviews via incentives.

Understanding how fake reviews impact customers can be gleaned from a report by the American consulting company Pattern.

Using Amazon as an example, the report states that just one more star in rating boosts the product’s sales by 26%.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in complaints against e-commerce sites on the National Consumer Helpline.

Where there were 95,270 such complaints in 2018, there were 4,44,034 in 2023, meaning complaints nearly quadrapuled.

In response to the growing problem of fake reviews, the government has decided to issue a new code of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

The customer who will write review and the person responsible for administering the reviews, the new standard will make both these two persons answerable for the reviews given. The new standard will be IS 19000:2022. Identifying the person who writes the review on the e-commerce site will be necessary. Companies will need to prepare a written code of conduct about which the entire management and staff of the company will need to be informed.

The purpose of all this is to ensure that only real reviews are published. E-commerce companies will also need to provide complete information on paid and promotional reviews. Fake reviews are not limited only to e-commerce sites.

According to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, fake reviews have an impact on customers not only in segments like hotels, tour and travel, but also in food and beverage.

It is hoped that this action by the government will be successful in curbing fake reviews. Nonetheless, you should also remain a little aware.

Don’t blindly trust reviews. Pay attention to the company’s credibility before buying any product. It is unlikely that reputed brands will give you bad products or services.

Such brands may be a bit more expensive but then you’ll avoid repeatedly complaining about the product or service and get frustrated.