How do expert reviews and consumer reviews affect purchasing decisions? An event-related potential study.

Abstract

Online consumer reviews and expert reviews play a crucial role in customers’ purchase decisions. Existing studies explored the influence of consumer reviews and expert reviews on purchasing decisions separately. No research has examined how expert reviews and consumer reviews affect purchasing behaviors simultaneously. This study adopted the event-related potentials (ERP) technique to investigate the underlying cognitive process and purchasing behaviors when confront with different portfolios of consumer reviews and expert reviews. Participants were required to make a purchase decision according to the presented stimuli in each trial. Behavioral results indicated that a higher purchase rate was observed when expert reviews and consumer reviews are positive, followed by the portfolio of positive expert reviews and negative consumer reviews. The results suggested that expert reviews outweigh consumer reviews when making purchase decisions. At the neural level, when expert reviews and consumer reviews are consistent (both positive or negative), positive reviews could evoke smaller P2, larger N2, and larger later positive potential (LPP). When expert reviews and consumer reviews are conflictive, the portfolio of positive expert reviews and negative consumer reviews could elicit smaller P2, N2, and larger LPP. The physiological results revealed a three-stage cognitive pattern before making purchase decisions, including early attentional resources allocation with P2, conflicts perception with N2, and the later evaluative categorization with LPP. Briefly, these findings provided a preliminary exploration of consumers’ underlying cognitive processes and neural responses when making purchase decisions. Our findings will help marketers better understand consumers’ cognitive processes and contribute to managing online reviews.

Review of Studies on User Research Based on EEG and Eye Tracking

“…For instance, in situations where consumer reviews exhibit consistency, whether positive or negative, positive reviews may evoke a diminished P2 component, an amplified N2 component, and an enhanced late positive potential (LPP). These distinct components signify the allocation of attentional resources, perception of cognitive conflicts, and evaluative categorization processes linked to the LPP [94]. Researchers and practitioners can use this information to improve the sales efficiency of displays, and help promote standardized research methods for consumers in many retail market environments [95].…”

Neuromarketing as a scale validation tool: Understanding individual differences based on the style of processing scale in affective judgements

“…We speculate that verbalizers may, by virtue of their preferred processing style, be especially adept at categorizing affective processes as a verbal kind, and thereby elicit rapid and pronounced ELAN as compared to visualizers when making such judgments. In studies with marketing stimuli, negative frontal ERP components like ELAN have been linked to inhibition of aroused prepotent responses such as consumer impulsivity (Mei et al, 2021) or conflict as when a consumer is making a choice based on differing expert and consumer reviews (Guo et al, 2022). Theoretical accounts suggest that emotion, in particular negative affect, affects the brain as a regulator of the right anterior hemisphere (Kuhl et al, 2021), in concert with a wide body of literature demonstrating hemispheric specialization as shown by ERPs (cf.…”