In Mobile We Trust: How Mobile Reviews Can Overcome Consumer Distrust of User-Generated Reviews

In the context of user-generated content (UGC), mobile devices have made it easier for consumers to review products and services in a timely manner. In practice, some UGC sites differentiate between reviews posted from mobile versus non-mobile devices. For example, TripAdvisor uses a “via mobile” label to denote reviews from mobile devices. However, the extent to which such information impacts consumers is unknown. To address this gap, the authors use data from TripAdvisor and five experiments to examine how mobile impacts consumers’ perceptions of UGC reviews and their purchase intentions. They find that knowing that a review was posted from a mobile device leads consumers to perceive the review as more accurate, and, importantly, have higher purchase intentions. Interestingly, consumers assume that mobile reviews are more accurate due to the belief that writing reviews via mobile requires more effort and equate effort with the reviewer being more trustworthy. These effects are greater among skeptical consumers, implying that labeling of mobile reviews is a practice that can help overcome latent consumer distrust in UGC.