Are they listening? Designing online recommendations for today's consumers
Authors: Lepkowska‐White Elzbieta 
Published: August 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the use of online recommendation systems on e‐commerce sites is which becoming more common as marketers recognize their potential to improve their own operations as well as consumers' shopping experiences. Since some consumers question the credibility of these systems, this study compares responses to such systems (classified based on their source into seller and third party systems) with responses to recommendations coming directly from other consumers. The latter may also be better suited for consumers today since many of them utilize direct information from social media on a daily basis. Past research indicates that reactions to such recommendations may depend on the types of goods they describe and therefore this study also tests whether consumer responses vary with types of goods. The study examines consumer reactions to recommendations designed for search, experience, and credence goods. Finally, this study also explores the most desired features of recommendations to help marketers come up with the most effective recommendations that help facilitate purchasing decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study surveys a convenience sample of 202 undergraduate students to test these objectives. It was a 3 (product types) by 3 (recommendation types) factorial design with multiple dependent variables and three covariates.

Findings

The study reveals that, irrespective of the product type, consumers react differently to the three types of recommendations that are tested. This study shows that consumers have the most positive attitudes and most frequently utilize recommendations coming directly from other consumer. This suggests that more attention should be directed to these recommendations in marketing theory and practice. Consumers also hold more positive attitudes towards third‐party recommendation systems than recommendation systems coming from the seller. They also have more positive reactions toward recommendations designed for search and experience goods rather than credence products. Finally, the study also examines the usefulness of different characteristics of these recommendations to help online managers develop most effective recommendations online and finds that it varies with different types of recommendations and products for which recommendations are used.

Originality/value

In addition to the recommendation systems that have been explored in the past (seller and third party systems), the study examines reactions to recommendations coming directly from other consumers, as these recommendations may be better suited for today's audiences. The study shows which recommendation type is best received and most frequently used online. It also tests reactions to recommendations designed for different types of goods. This study includes credence goods, in addition to search and experience products, since consumer reactions to recommendations designed for credence goods have not been yet explored in the past research. It also found that recommendations are better received for goods with a higher number of search features. Finally, the study explores the specific features of different recommendation types and based on the findings proposes how these online recommendations should be structured to be most effective.