Impact of Online Reviews on Consumer Learning and Attitude: An Analysis through S-O-R Model

Abstract

In this era of digitisation, individuals purposely engage in buying online, which is the process of procuring goods and services from merchants who sell on the web medium. Such e-commerce platforms ensure that shoppers can visit the online stores from the comfort of their homes and shop even when they are commuting. From the buyer's point of view, e-commerce aids in providing a plethora of tangible advantages. Namely, time reduction during product scanning, enhanced buyer decisions, time saved during invoicing, handling order inconsistencies and finally facilitating wider product choice. Conversely, conceptual development and empirical evidence in this field of research are still limited, which greatly deter us from understanding the impact parameters of online reviews. Online consumer reviews provide product-related information and product recommendations from the customer perspective. An important function of online reviews is also to considerably minimise the risk and uncertainty that online shoppers perceive prior to the product purchase. Word of Mouth (WOM) is the traditional mode of communication for sharing opinion and comments regarding a product or service. With the advent of web-based technology, WOM has evolved into an entirely new form of communication that exploits modern technology and impacts consumer opinion. Online consumer reviews constitute a type of electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) which consists of analysis, comment, reviews or experiences of products and/or services generated and posted online by customers. Online shoppers undertake the review of other shopper's comments and experiences before making a purchase decision. When the perceived risk though online shopping is high, the online reviews act as a substantial source of consumer confidence and aids in purchase decision. This paper aims at studying the impact of factors related to e-WOM, which act as stimuli thereby enhancing learning and formation of consumer attitude leading to online purchase decisions.