Why Are Fake Reviews Thriving, and What Is Their Impact?

The eCommerce market grew exponentially during the Covid era, as people stayed home and spent liberally. Yet there remains a pervasive sense of distrust when it comes to online transactions, meaning eCommerce businesses are having to rely less on customer reviews for social proof. Fake reviews lead to misjudged buying decisions. In turn, leveraging your online reviews can actually negatively impact your brand, because most customers can’t confidently spot fakes.

None of this is to say that customer reviews don’t have their place in 2023—they still most certainly do, as I see time and again with clients at my performance marketing agency, Pixated. Rather, you just need to be savvy with when and how you promote them—and exercise smart damage control if you inadvertently use fake reviews and get caught out.

How Do You Actually Define a Fake Review?

A fake review is one written with the intent to deceive. Most of the time they’re created by individuals who have never used the product or service, and perhaps have never even interacted with the company. Sometimes fake reviews do come from real customers, but their feedback is entirely at odds with their actual experience.

Far more businesses than you might imagine enlisting the services of review generation bots—and in fact, entire companies exist solely to provide fake reviews. Elsewhere, some businesses offer customers rewards for fake reviews, and others leave brutal feedback excoriating a competitor pretending to be a...