#114: what do we do with reviews?

Happy?Friday?and welcome to This Week in CX! We're bringing you our roundup of industry news summarised in an exclusive LinkedIn newsletter. For more detail on any news featured here, check out 'This week in CX' on the Customer Experience Magazine (CXM)?website.

This week, we’ve been looking at how reviews impact customer behaviour, what’s happening with the job market and is cloud technology the frontier in CX and personalisation.

Reputation finds strong influence of online reviews on consumer decision-making

A new survey by Reputation, reveals that online reviews have become one of the most influential factors in consumer decision-making, surpassing traditional sources such as company marketing efforts, influencer opinions, and even advice from friends and family.

The survey was conducted to support National Leave a Review Day, which takes place on October 22, and to shine light on the importance of online reviews. According to the findings, 54% of consumers are putting their trust in online reviews first, outweighing the opinions of friends and family (24%), company claims (18%), social media influencers (2%), and media reviews (2%). Notably, 77% of respondents stated that they find online reviews to be “mostly” trustworthy.

Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, place even more emphasis on online reviews, with 76% rating them as the second most important factor behind product quality. Personal loyalty to the brand (44%) and a brand’s stance on social and political issues (24%) were the least important attributes to consumers.

These findings underscore the critical need for businesses to prioritize their online reputation and maintain active review management to ensure they meet the changing expectations of today’s shoppers.

• Apple debuted many Apple Intelligence features in beta on Wednesday, including an image generator and ChatGPT integration. Investors are betting the new tools — available only on the latest iPhones — will encourage upgrades.
• Small breweries in the UK are moving away from the terms “craft” and “indie”, as global corporations have diluted their meaning by acquiring once-independent brands. A YouGov survey found that 40% of consumers mistakenly believed Heineken-owned Beavertown’s Neck Oil was independent, underscoring the confusion.
• Tesla said it’s expecting a big uptick in demand for its electric vehicles, offering investors some reassurance after a shaky start to the year. The company said it anticipates growth in deliveries and is on track to introduce cheaper vehicles in 2025.

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