Toward an Understanding of Consumer Attitudes on Online Review Usage

With the rapid e-commerce growth and changes in consumers' behaviors, many businesses are forced to adapt their business model to match their target customers' needs. To provide consumers with more product details and increase their confidence in making online purchases, online businesses offer an online review as an alternative to physically interacting with a product. Although consumers have become familiar with the use of online product reviews, many aspects of user behavior toward the usage of online reviews are still not well understood. This study explores the factors underlying the acceptance of consumers' online review usage when considering purchasing an item. The study results provide insight into the factors that affect customers' use of online reviews prior to a purchase. This study furthers the body of knowledge that deals with online reviews and system usage, providing results that allow e-commerce businesses to adapt their business model to better fit consumers' expectations.