The effect of online consumer reviews on new product sales

Geng CUI, Hon Kwong LUI, Xiaoning GUO

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

464 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study examines the effect of online reviews on new product sales for consumer electronics and video games. Analyses of panel data of 332 new products from Amazon.com over nine months reveal that the valence of reviews and the volume of page views have a stronger effect on search products, whereas the volume of reviews is more important for experience products. The results also show that the volume of reviews has a significant effect on new product sales in the early period and such effect decreases over time. Moreover, the percentage of negative reviews has a greater effect than that of positive reviews, confirming the negativity bias. Thus, marketers need to consider the distinctive influences of various aspects of online reviews when launching new products and devising e-marketing strategies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)39-57
Number of pages19
JournalInternational Journal of Electronic Commerce
Volume17
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2012

Keywords

  • New product sales
  • online product reviews
  • panel data analyses
  • search vs. experience products
  • word of mouth

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