Is no feedback perceived as a risk in online reviews?

Abstract

Online reviews are critical in consumer decision‐making regarding making online purchases. Given that reviews allow consumers to leave personal feedback about a product or service, it is unclear why some choose not to. This study is an examination of whether consumers tend to perceive no feedback as a sign of risk in online product listings along with the effects of no feedback on purchase intention. Regulatory focus theory is also applied to elucidate the differences in perceived risk between offerings with either high or low numbers of transactions accompanied by no feedback. Through online survey, data were gathered with 450 participants who had used any online marketplaces within 3 months. Consumers with a focus on both prevention and promotion perceive higher risk when there are many transactions with no feedback (high number of no‐feedback condition), whereas consumers with a promotion focus perceive significantly lower risk when there are few transactions with no feedback (low number of no‐feedback condition). From the analyses of regression and structural equation modeling, perceived risk negatively affected purchase intention in both the high and low number of no‐feedback condition. Also in both the promotion and prevention focus groups, purchase intention is significantly higher in the low no feedback condition than the high no feedback. This study's findings confirm that consumers perceive offerings with high no feedback as high risk.