Eye-Tracking eWOM: How Consumers Use Reviews in Their Purchase Decisions

• In Event: HIGH-DENSITY: Cognitive Processing, Social Influence, and Social Networks

Abstract

Online consumer reviews play an important role in consumer decision-making processes. While there has been a plethora of research studying the effects of different elements of reviews, such as valence or volume, on sales rank and perceived helpfulness, we still do not understand how consumers actually use reviews in the decision-making process, meaning how they attend to reviews and which elements of reviews they take into account while constructing decisions. According to drift diffusion models, attention plays an active role in making the decision, but—since it is not observable from the outside—it is difficult to investigate. This study uses eye-tracking technology to understand how consumers attend to and process online reviews. The results will provide insights into how consumers use reviews in their decision-making process, which can be translated into practical implications for online-review platforms and stores on how to design the review environments.

Authors

• Ewa Maslowska, Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR / U of Amsterdam

• Claire Monique Segijn, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communnication, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Vijay Viswanathan, Northwestern U