Impact of Online Reviews on Consumer Purchase Decisions: A Literature Review

Authors

  • Shagun Thakur assistant professor Author

Keywords:

Online reviews ,consumer behavior, purchase decisions, digital marketing

Abstract

With the smart growth in e-commerce and digital platforms, consumer decision-making has undergone a radical shift. One of the most significant pieces of information that influence purchasing is now being provided online. This literature review brings together the available research to understand how major review characteristics (valence, volume, credibility, and quality) impact consumer trust, attitudes, and purchase intention. The review is extended from simple summary of the content of each study to an integrative theoretical model that connects the review cues with psychological trust to behavioral intentions. Moreover, it covers essential new trends in the digital world, including social commerce sites (like TikTok and Instagram) and fake and AI-generated reviews. The paper ends with implications for practitioners of digital marketing who wish to build consumer trust and suggestions for further empirical studies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] Pandey, J. K., & Kumar, R. (2025). Governing the algorithmic agent: Confronting overt and covert challenges to justice and the future of work. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, 8(4), 1974–1984. https://doi.org/10.10000/IJLMH.1110648

[2] Shukla, S. S., Bajpai, S., Veeraiah, V., O, T. K., Pandey, J. K., & Nayudu, M. Y. (2024). Social media-driven e-commerce growth through advanced technologies. In 2024 IEEE 11th Uttar Pradesh Section International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering (UPCON) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/UPCON62832.2024.10983796

[3] Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006). The effect of word of mouth on sales: Online book reviews. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.43.3.345

[4] Zhu, F., & Zhang, X. (2010). Impact of online consumer reviews on sales: The moderating role of product and consumer characteristics. Journal of Marketing, 74(2), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.74.2.133

[5] Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E., & Pan, B. (2008). Electronic word-of-mouth in hospitality and tourism management. Tourism Management, 29(3), 458–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2007.05.011

[6] Bickart, B., & Schindler, R. M. (2001). Internet forums as influential sources of consumer information. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 15(3), 31–40. https://doi.org/10.1002/dir.1014

[7] Fernandes, S., Panda, R., Venkatesh, V. G., Swar, B. N., & Shi, Y. (2022). Measuring the impact of online reviews on consumer purchase decisions: A scale development study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 68, 103066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103066

[8] Filieri, R. (2015). What makes online reviews helpful? A diagnosticity-adoption framework to explain informational and normative influences in e-WOM. Journal of Business Research, 68(6), 1261–1270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.11.006

[9] Mudambi, S. M., & Schuff, D. (2010). What makes a helpful online review? A study of customer reviews on Amazon.com. MIS Quarterly, 34(1), 185–200. https://doi.org/10.2307/20721420

[10] Park, C., & Lee, T. M. (2009). Information direction, website reputation and eWOM effect: A moderating role of product type. Journal of Business Research, 62(1), 61–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2007.11.017

[11] Park, C., Lee, T. M., & Han, I. (2007). The effect of online consumer reviews on consumer purchasing intention. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 11(4), 125–148. https://doi.org/10.2753/JEC1086-4415110405

[12] Sen, S., & Lerman, D. (2007). Why are you telling me this? An examination into negative consumer reviews on the web. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 21(4), 76–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/dir.20090

[13] Smith, A. N., Fischer, E., & Yongjian, C. (2012). How does brand-related user-generated content differ across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(2), 102–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2012.01.002

[14] Dellarocas, C. (2003). The digitization of word of mouth: Promise and challenges of online feedback mechanisms. Management Science, 49(10), 1407–1424. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.49.10.1407.17308

[15] Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K. P., Walsh, G., & Gremler, D. D. (2004). Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the internet? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(1), 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/dir.10073

[16] Pandey, J. K., & Kumar, R. (2025). Governing the algorithmic agent: Confronting overt and covert challenges to justice and the future of work. International Journal of Law Management & Humanities, 8(4), 1974–1984. https://doij.org/10.10000/IJLMH.1110648

[17] Pandey, J. (2019). Qualitative techniques for workplace data analysis [Online article].

Downloads

Published

05-08-2026

Data Availability Statement

no primary dataset was generated or analyzed during this study . all information used in this review was obtained from published academic literature and publicly available sources cited in the references. 

How to Cite

Impact of Online Reviews on Consumer Purchase Decisions: A Literature Review. (2026). Journal of Multidisciplinary Sciences, Arts and Humanities, 1(1), 11-15. https://ijpress.com/jmsah/article/view/26

Similar Articles

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.