The Role of Online Reviews in the Customer Perception of Products on the Example of Smartphones

Many people around the world nowadays buy goods and services online, actively refer to online customer reviews. One of the markets, where the online reviews play a significant role, is the smartphones’ market. Today a large number of new smartphones with different functionalities appear, which makes it difficult for buyers to differentiate smartphones between different models, which further leads buyers of smartphones to the online customer reviews for the detailed information. Based on this, the importance of how potential buyers perceive online reviews, their interpretation of the review, which then leads to a decision of the product purchasing, rises. The aim of this study is to identify the impact of characteristics and components of online customer reviews on the perception of products on the example of smartphones. As part of this research, a quantitative study was carried out based on the data analysis. The study uses a secondary data with online reviews of cell phones from Amazon.com sourced from Kaggle platform. The results of the research revealed certain characteristics and components of online reviews that have a significant impact on the perception of smartphones among potential buyers. Based on the results of the study, recommendations were proposed for sellers and manufacturers of smartphones.