Internet Entrepreneurs Blog

Sports One Source posted a good article about the importance of consumer reviews in the ski and snowboard industry. The article is available via subscription only but here are some highlights:

(T)he majority of snow sports participants (86.4%) said that they take the time to read online product reviews that other consumers have written before purchasing new products … More than 88% of panel members said they seek out and read these reviews before purchasing expensive snow sports equipment and apparel.

Wow, 88% seek out product reviews before making a purchasing decision! While those interested in high end snow gear are generally younger and more comfortable seeking information and advice online than average, this certainly signals an important trend.

Almost 7 out of 10 consumers have decided not to purchase a product because of a review another consumer has written. On the other hand, the impact of a bad review only goes so far, 61.6% have purchased a product even after it received bad consumer reviews.

Retailers are concerned that bad reviews can tank sales - and this seems to reinforce that concern. Since retailers are often unwilling to give consumers the ability to post potentially negative product reviews it is important for review sites to remain independent in an effort to provide the best information to consumers.

Consumer review web sites provide tremendous transparency to markets for goods and services that simply could not have existed before the Internet. Today, anyone can create a consumer review web site using Review App - what will your Review App be about?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 8:17 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.