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Amazon is top destination for shoppers to read online reviews

Data Highlights

  • 7 in 10 online shoppers read reviews on Amazon before making a purchase decision
  • Shoppers are more likely to read reviews on retailer sites like Walmart (37%) and eBay (35%) compared to Google (25%) and Facebook (16%)
  • Amazon (34%) is perceived as the most accurate destination for online reviews ahead of eBay (5%) and Google (4%)
  • Amazon is the top online destination to read reviews among men (69%) & women (72%)
  • Women lead men in reading reviews at Amazon, Walmart (45%), and Target (26%)
  • eBay & Google are more popular review sites among men (37% and 29% respectively)

Amazon is the top online destination for shoppers to read product reviews. 7 in 10 shoppers read existing reviews on Amazon before making a purchase decision. Shoppers prefer Amazon because they perceive Amazon reviews to be most accurate. More than a third (34%) of shoppers believe Amazon is the most accurate destination for online reviews – significantly ahead of eBay (5%) and Google (4%).

Why Amazon is top destination for shoppers to read online reviews

As the top e-commerce brand, it is not surprising to see that shoppers rank Amazon reviews as the most accurate. In-built features that allow shoppers to rank reviews as helpful and a ‘Verified Purchase’ mark that points out shoppers who indeed bought the product from Amazon have built the perception of accuracy. In addition, Amazon’s own fight against fake reviews also helps boost the perception of accuracy.

Overall shoppers prefer to read product reviews on retailer sites like Amazon, Walmart, and eBay over social media sites like Facebook or aggregation sites like Google. More than a third of shoppers read reviews on Walmart (37%) and eBay (35%). In comparison, a quarter of shoppers look up product reviews on Google (25%) and only 16% turn to Facebook for online reviews.

Retailer sites like Amazon, eBay and Walmart are more relevant and specific to the shopping occasion. Product reviews are easily available on retailer sites and can be sorted by rating, date, and popularity giving shoppers greater control over how they read reviews. Facebook and Google, on the other hand, need a lot more time and effort from shoppers if they are to find and get useful product reviews that help them make a purchase decision.

gender online review destination

This is slightly more true among female shoppers than men. Google, in particular, is more a popular review destination among men than women(37% and 29% respectively). However, both men (69%) and women (72%), overwhelmingly prefer reading reviews on Amazon. Women also lead men in reading reviews at Walmart (45%) and Target (26%).

*for additional details on sources and follow up information see our full report – The State Of Online Reviews Among U.S. Shoppers