Most shoppers rely on online reviews before clicking the buy button. But consumer curiosity often extends past checkout. People read reviews after receiving a gift, while waiting for a movie to start, or after booking a nonrefundable vacation.
A team of researchers wanted to know if reading these reviews changes the actual experience of using the product. Their investigation, published in the Journal of Marketing Research, found that encountering negative feedback before consuming a product makes the experience noticeably worse. Positive reviews do not provide the same boost.
The lingering effects of negative feedback
Dena Yadin of Northeastern University and her colleagues noted that prior research heavily focused on how reviews drive sales. The academic focus typically ended once the purchase was complete. The research team identified a gap regarding how reviews linger in a consumer’s mind during consumption.
They theorized that people might interpret their own experiences through the lens of the reviews they read. They also suspected a psychological phenomenon known as negativity bias might play a role. Humans naturally pay more attention to negative information, as it often feels more informative and surprising than positive news.
To test these ideas, the researchers designed five experiments. In the first test, 719 online participants watched either a high-quality or low-quality music video. Before watching, some participants saw a two-star rating and five negative reviews. Others saw a four-star rating with positive reviews, and a third group saw no reviews at all. After watching the clip, participants rated their enjoyment.
The results showed that participants who read negative reviews rated the music clip lower and reported enjoying it less than those who read positive reviews or no reviews. This drop in enjoyment happened regardless of whether the music clip was actually high or low quality. Reading positive reviews did not significantly improve the experience compared to reading no reviews at all.
Timing and mixed reviews
The researchers then wanted to know if participants were actually experiencing the product differently, or if they were just adjusting their survey answers to match the reviews. In a second experiment, 999 participants read a book excerpt. The researchers varied exactly when participants saw reviews for the book.
Some saw the reviews before choosing the book, some right before reading, some halfway through, and some only after they finished reading. Participants who read negative reviews at any point before finishing the book reported a worse experience than those who read negative reviews after finishing. The authors argue that this timing difference shows negative reviews alter the actual reading experience, rather than just influencing what participants claim about it afterward.
Real life often involves a mix of good and bad feedback. In a third experiment, participants chose a book excerpt and saw a mix of four reviews. For some, the set included three positive reviews and one negative review. For others, it was three negative reviews and one positive review.
The analysis revealed that introducing just one negative review into a positive set dragged down the reader’s enjoyment. A single positive review added to a negative set did not improve the experience.
The mechanics of a ruined experience
To understand the chain of events driving this imbalance, the researchers asked 376 participants to listen to a holiday song. Some read positive reviews beforehand, some read negative ones, and others read none. Afterward, participants listed five specific things they remembered about the music and noted whether each was something they liked or disliked.
The researchers found that reading negative reviews increased the number of negative attributes participants recalled. This heightened focus on negative details was directly linked to lower overall ratings for the song. Positive reviews did not prompt a similar increase in recalling positive attributes.
In a final experiment involving 1,600 participants, the researchers tested a way to soften the impact of bad reviews. Before showing participants the ratings and reviews for a music clip, the researchers explicitly warned half of the group about the influence of reviews and encouraged them to form their own independent opinions.
This simple prompt worked. Participants who were encouraged to think independently reported better experiences after reading negative reviews compared to those who received no warning. The prompt had no effect on those who read positive reviews.
Business and consumer takeaways
The findings suggest that companies should manage negative reviews with an eye on how they impact existing customers, not just potential buyers. Unhappy reviews can create a snowball effect. When customers have a worse experience because they read a bad review, they are more likely to write their own negative review afterward.
For consumers, the research offers a simple takeaway. Once a purchase is made, reading reviews can only hurt the experience. People looking to enjoy their purchases are better off ignoring the comment section entirely.
