5 Sneaky Reasons You're Spending More Than You Want To
New research reveals surprising traps we fall into when we take out our wallets.
By Lynn Andriani
You're Programmed to Think More Reviews Are Better
We can still hear our mom's voice: "It's not a popularity contest." It turns out, we'd be wise to heed her advice, especially when it comes to online shopping. A report in Psychological Science found that consumers tend to value the number of reviews an item has almost as much as what kind of reviews (e.g., positive or negative) it has, and items with more reviews are seen to have more value. What's more, the researchers learned that, statistically speaking, when shoppers are comparing two items, the one with more reviews is actually more likely to be a lower-quality product than the one with fewer reviews. This is especially important to remember if you're buying something expensive online, since this analysis found that reviewers put more time and effort into reviewing products that are worth more.
Published 10/03/2017