Factors that affect consumer trust in product quality: a focus on online reviews and shopping platforms

The growing popularity of online shopping means that consumers must determine product quality after they make a purchase decision and receive the product, a situation that is directly related to the issue of consumers’ trust toward retailers. This study analyzes the marginal willingness to pay for attributes that influence consumer trust and purchasing decisions regarding products whose quality can only be determined after they are purchased. We select six attributes that influence trust in online shopping: (1) price, (2) number of reviews, (3) "star" rating, (4) review type (i.e., text, picture, and video), (5) length of text reviews, and (6) shopping platform. We conduct a conjoint survey by categorizing brands as famous and nonfamous and analyze the survey data using a multinominal logit model. The results reveal that consumers prefer high star ratings, a large number of reviews, and a trustworthy shopping platform, even if other similar products are less expensive. Additionally, feeling confident about a product’s quality is more difficult for consumers in the case of nonfamous brands, which they have not experienced, compared with famous brands. The findings indicate that when consumers purchase products from nonfamous brands they are willing to pay more for all six attributes. These results can help retailers establish pricing strategies based on the value of trust by considering customer experience.

Eunsuk Sung, Won Young Chung, Daeho Lee