{"title":"The impact of COVID-19 on online product reviews","authors":"O. Kutlubay, Mesut Çiçek, Serdar Yayla","doi":"10.1108/jpbm-12-2020-3281","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\nPurpose\nThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic changes in the lives of customers. Social isolation, financial difficulties, fear of being infected and many other factors have caused the psychological well-being of customers to deteriorate. By taking up the role of online reviews in the regulation of consumers’ moods, this study aims to examine the changes that have occurred in online product ratings, as well as the negative tone and word counts of product reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\n\nDesign/methodology/approach\nThis study examines the online reviews of 321 products in the pre-COVID, immediate COVID and extended COVID periods. This paper compares the changes that have taken place in product evaluations via various analysis of variance analyses. The authors also test the effect of COVID-related deaths on product evaluations via regression analyses.\n\n\nFindings\nThe results indicate that online product ratings decreased sharply just after the outbreak of COVID-19. The study also found that the tone of reviews was found to be more negative and the length of reviews appeared to be longer in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 period. The results also revealed that the product type (experience vs search) moderated the effect of the pandemic in online reviews and the impact of COVID-19 on online product reviews diminished in the later stages of the ongoing pandemic.\n\n\nPractical implications\nManagers should be aware of the detrimental impact of pandemics on online product reviews and be more responsive to customer problems during the early stages of pandemics.\n\n\nOriginality/value\nTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the effects of a pandemic on online product ratings and review content. As such, this study offers a timely contribution to the marketing literature.\n","PeriodicalId":48172,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Product and Brand Management","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.2000,"publicationDate":"2021-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"6","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Product and Brand Management","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1108/jpbm-12-2020-3281","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 6
Abstract
Purpose
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic changes in the lives of customers. Social isolation, financial difficulties, fear of being infected and many other factors have caused the psychological well-being of customers to deteriorate. By taking up the role of online reviews in the regulation of consumers’ moods, this study aims to examine the changes that have occurred in online product ratings, as well as the negative tone and word counts of product reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examines the online reviews of 321 products in the pre-COVID, immediate COVID and extended COVID periods. This paper compares the changes that have taken place in product evaluations via various analysis of variance analyses. The authors also test the effect of COVID-related deaths on product evaluations via regression analyses.
Findings
The results indicate that online product ratings decreased sharply just after the outbreak of COVID-19. The study also found that the tone of reviews was found to be more negative and the length of reviews appeared to be longer in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 period. The results also revealed that the product type (experience vs search) moderated the effect of the pandemic in online reviews and the impact of COVID-19 on online product reviews diminished in the later stages of the ongoing pandemic.
Practical implications
Managers should be aware of the detrimental impact of pandemics on online product reviews and be more responsive to customer problems during the early stages of pandemics.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the effects of a pandemic on online product ratings and review content. As such, this study offers a timely contribution to the marketing literature.
期刊介绍：
Branding has evolved and organizations are facing a lot of new challenges when managing their brand reputations, an activity that has become strategic and interdisciplinary. The Journal of Product and Brand Management (JPBM) advances the theoretical and managerial knowledge of products and brands. Manuscripts may either report results based on rigorously analysed qualitative/quantitative data or be purely conceptual. All manuscripts must offer significant research findings and insights and offer meaningful implications for the real world. This journal is proudly international and inter-disciplinary. We publish manuscripts which compare international markets and encourage submissions approaching branding and product management from any discipline. We focus on all aspects of branding and product management from development to dilution. This includes areas as broad as person, place or political brands.
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