The Participatory Culture of Amazon User Reviews

Introduction: Case Study
The phenomenon that I intend to study for this assignment is the participatory culture of Amazon.com and it's affiliated domains worldwide. Amazon is a participatory online medium because customers engage in a review system which shares their opinions of the products that Amazon retails with other community members. Users can also participate in “Customer Discussions” on Amazon, which are community forums with thousands of different topics of conversation.

The peculiar characteristic that makes Amazon interesting is it's power and influence as an online retail giant. Amazon is "the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States", and arguably one of the biggest Internet-based retailers worldwide, since it has domains in fourteen other countries and ships internationally (Wikipedia, 2015). The company seeks “to offer the earth's biggest selection and to be the earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they may want to buy online. (Competitive Intelligence, 2015). “ In 2014, research by statista.com found that Amazon’s net revenue was $88.99 billion (US).

Globally, Amazon is the 6th most visited website in the world, and within the United States, it is the 3rd most visited website (Competitive Intelligence, 2015). There are over 20 different diverse and open categories for retail goods on Amazon, such as baby products, consumer electronics and accessories, toys and video games, home improvement, and apparel.

How do customer reviews work?
After purchasing a good, a consumer is able to review the product using Amazon's 5 star review system as well as write or record a consumer review. The ratings from 1-5 stars for each product are averaged amongst all the reviews posted to create an overall product rating. Amazon encourages customers to share both favourable and unfavourable reviews of its retail goods. After a customer receives an order, Amazon sends them an email, asking them to engage in the website’s online community by sharing their experience with the product. There are strict ‘Customer Review Guidelines’ so that users can count on reviews being honest. Amazon has an economic incentive to preserve the integrity of it's customer reviews because billions of dollars worth of purchases are made based on positive reviews of the products they offer.

Users who write online reviews are participating in the website by sharing their experiences and opinions. These reviews contribute to a community of trust, honesty, participation, and reliance on others to form cohesive decisions. Therefore, the company continuously seeks to upgrade it's review system (e.g. "Amazon Verified Purchaser Program) and punishes malicious users who violate it's ‘Conditions of Use’ with regards to content accuracy. In October 2015, the company filed a lawsuit in Washington against over 1,000 Amazon users who are accused of posting fake reviews of products on Amazon in exchange for monetary compensation.

Why are honest reviews important?
According to the complaint filed by Amazon.com Inc. against 1,114 "John Does" who are accused of posting fake reviews on the website, "Amazon believes all helpful information can inform its customers’ buying decisions". Sadly, to gain edge in an oversaturated market, "a very small minority of sellers and manufacturers sometimes try to gain unfair competitive advantages for their products on Amazon.com. One such method is creating false, misleading, and inauthentic customer reviews” (Amazon v. John Does 1-1114, 2015).

Therefore, if fake reviews are continuously posted and go unmonitored, purchasers may be lead to buy products which don't reflect the reviews posted, and Amazon risks having consumer trust in their brand undermined.

Research Question
I would like to investigate how the participatory culture of customer reviews on Amazon influence consumer's buying decisions. In particular, I want to study the phenomenon of fake reviews and the role they play within the consumer-retailer relationship on Amazon.

'''Question: How do fake reviews influence the consumer-retailer relationship between Amazon and it's customers? Furthermore, how do reviews (both positive and negative) influence consumer’s buying decisions?'''

What do I Intend to Learn?
Through this research, I seek to better understand why Amazon is such a powerful online retailer and learn about how honesty and trust are integral to a participatory culture built on sharing opinions. This research is important because retail sales from online shopping are “expected to grow steadily to $370 billion in 2017” (Abramovich, 2014). Amazon controls a quarter of that revenue, with, as previously stated, over $88 billion dollars in sales. Thusly, I would like to understand the relevance and influence of customer reviews in an industry which generates so much revenue for the global economy. I would also like to understand how positive and negative commentary reinforce a person’s decision.

How will I conduct my research?
To conduct my research, I plan on interviewing 5 people who are frequent shoppers on Amazon. I will lead open-ended interviews/discussions and ask them about their experiences with Amazon, fake reviews, and their engagement with the 5 star review system. I believe this is a useful way to collect research and answer my question because the people that I interview will be active participants in the Amazon community with an understanding of and familiarity with the 5 star review system and written/video reviews. I would also like to go through amazon.com with them, and record their engagement with the website, such as reading online reviews or creating the reviews themselves.

Possible Interview Questions:
Do you read reviews on amazon.com ?

Have you ever doubted the credibility of a review on amazon.com?

Do you lose trust in amazon.com’s credibility when you read fake reviews on it’s website?