Gensantos Foundation College, Inc.

Bulaong Extension, General Santos City

"The Impact of Review and Ratings towards Consumers' Decision to

Buy in an Online Shop "

An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of
Gensantos Foundation College Inc.

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
MAJOR IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT

By:

Barcatan, Maxine Louise P.

Basarte, Jasmine O.

Buenaflor, Daisy M.

Dela Cruz, Hannah Leah N.

Elman, Mat Jim B.

Ewican, Karen Joy A.

Obera, Melanie N.

Sarte, Nice Neko O.

Soliminiano, Russel Bell A.

Tero, Christian A.

October 07, 2023

 Chapter I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The reviews and ratings of consumers' decisions are one of the most

significant in the business sector. Online business has become popular, and almost

all businessmen worldwide engage in online activities to easily communicate with

customers. By this means, the retainers of an online business give importance to the

reviews and ratings, whether negative or positive responses of the customer to buy

the product or services. Under the circumstances, the customer's decision provides

awareness to an online business and helps online sellers improve the company for

customer satisfaction.

According to Byrne (2022), there are 30,000+ global shoppers, and the

majority (88%) of shoppers use reviews and ratings to discover and evaluate the

product. In addition, Stefanowics (2023), ratings and reviews are helpful for

businesses, as they help to spread brand awareness and improve the

trustworthiness of the company. Moreover, Sharma & Kidane (2022), explained that

the market comprises many different people and cultures with diverse viewpoints,

e-commerce businesses are being challenged by the reality of the complex behavior

of consumers. Besides, e-commerce is continuously achieving success, and it

becomes more critical for people in business to follow the current trend because as

technology changes, consumer behavior also changes (Krupa, 2023).

The study by Fernandez, Panda, Venkatesh, Swar, and Shi (2022), it fills the

gap of having a standardized scale that online retailers can use as an indicator to
assist consumers in their decision-making. In addition, Zhou (2022), stated that

there are differences in consumers' reception of the type of online reviews, with a

more significant effect on the perceived usefulness of negative reviews; the quality

and validity of reviews positively affect consumers' purchase intention. Also, in the

study conducted by Mahmoud and Mamdouh (2022), a significant relationship

exists between the volume of online reviews and consumer purchasing decisions.

Also, a significant relationship exists between the length of online reviews and

consumer purchasing decisions. How

In the study of Crismundo (2022), it was explained that most Filipino

online shoppers read product reviews first to help them decide on their online

purchases. It added that since Filipinos value online reviews, e-shoppers also share

their reviews of the purchased products with their family and friends or publish their

feedback on e-commerce platforms. In addition to the article Asean Up (2019)

“Insights and Trends of E-Commerce,", the Philippines is a country with a large and

rapidly growing market for e-commerce. With the continuous growth and

development of digital technologies in our country, especially through internet

connectivity and the use of mobile phones, this would be one of the main factors

that will make the Philippines, sooner or later, the major player in e-commerce in

Southeast Asia.

This study helps to understand consumers' desires regarding their buying

decisions. It fills the company's service gap and initiates obsolete and essential

products. The customers' feedback and response to every online business matter the

most because it is the company's opportunity to encourage more customers through

ratings and reviews. Furthermore, positive reviews and ratings in an online store are
very beneficial in gaining customer trust, increasing demand, and making the

product more profitable. Thus, this study will cater to the particular needs of online

business owners and online shoppers in terms of reviews and ratings of their most-

liked online shop in the Philippines.

Theoretical Framework

Positivism was used as the theoretical and conceptual framework for this

quantitative correlation study. It is to examine the relationship between reviews and

ratings towards consumers purchasing decision.

Social Influence

Social influence has been called in other names as social factors, subjective

norms, or social norms. It is defined as the change in behavior that one person

causes in another intentionally or unintentionally. The reason is due to a person’s

perception of the need to behave in a certain way to meet the social pressure, and

people change their ideas and actions to meet the demands of a social group (Mei &

Aun, 2019). In the study of Cialdini (2001), revealed that the influence of reviews and

ratings on consumers' decisions to make purchases in online shops is intricately

linked to various social influence theories. Positive reviews and high ratings act as

social proof, signalling to potential buyers that others have had positive experiences,

thereby influencing their purchasing decisions.

As proposed by Deutsch and Gerard (1995), it suggests that people conform to

the opinions or behaviours of others when they believe others possess accurate

information. In the context of online reviews, consumers may rely on the collective

wisdom of others as reflected in reviews to make informed decisions about a

product or service. In addition to Lombard, Snyder-Duch, and Bracken (2002),

suggests that individuals tend to adopt behaviours or beliefs because they perceive

others doing the same. In the realm of online shopping, the presence of a high

number of positive reviews may trigger the Bandwagon Effect, encouraging potential

buyers to follow the trend. The theory suggests that individuals are less likely to

voice opinions they perceive as in the minority, leading to the amplification of

majority opinions (Noelle-Neumann, 1974).

According to Katz and Shapiro (1985), stated that in online reviews, a growing

number of contributors can enhance the overall value of the review system, making

it a more influential information source for potential buyers. Besides, Katz and

Lazarsfeld (1995), proved that online review context, influencers or opinion leaders

who provide reviews may have a more substantial impact on the purchasing

decisions of their followers. Understanding the social meanings that consumers

ascribe to brands, products, and services. He explain how modern research on

consumer social judgments has built on insight and identified the ways in which

consumers are influenced by their close partners and by larger social groups (Ashc's,

1952).

As Ashc's recognized, social influence arises from consumers' motives to be in

unity with others or to be in conflict with them. Motives refer broadly to either

informational or social-normative goals. The study of Deutsch and Gerard (1955),

revealed that consumers are influenced by the preferences of others to the extent

that these others help them to understand reality, to maintain positive relationships,

and to be themselves. Also, Hsu and Lu (2004), claimed that social Influence by

giving ratings and reviews is causing a highly profitable e-commerce application in

recent years. The market value increasing markedly and number of customers is
rapidly growing. The reasons that people leave ratings and reviews is an important

area of marketing.

In addition to Hajli (2015), found out that engaging people through the content

in the internet influence consumers trust in their decision to intentionally buy online.

Social media becomes the medium of commerce in terms of advertising and reaching

potential customers, and generating content to encourage people to avail the offer.

Individuals simultaneously experience conformity needs (Deutsch & Gerard, 1955;

Sherif, 1936), uniqueness needs (Fromkin,1970), and normative conflict (Packer,

2008) in a social group, with the dominating force contingent on situational

characteristics. In terms of conformity needs, people tend to conform to social

influence from peers with whom they are familiar as well as those they do not know

(Darley & Latane, 1968). By conforming to others, people may make fewer mistakes,

invest less mental effort in tasks, and avoid compromising their reputation (Cialdini,

2009).

Websites prominently display consumers’ product ratings, which influence

consumers’ buying decisions and willingness to pay. Few insights exist regarding

whether a consumer's online product rating is prone to social influence from others’

online ratings (Sridhar and Srinivasan, 2012).

Personal Factor

The uniqueness motivation is activated when people feel as though they are too

similar to other group members and thus take measures to reclaim their uniqueness

and reduce negative affect induced by a lack of differentiation (Snyder & Fromkin,

1980). For instance, people who perceive themselves as too much like other group

members are more to conform less during a judgment task and contribute less to the
task overall (Duval, 1976). Applying this logic, the present author proposes that

when a consumer’s product experience is consistent with the majority of other

consumers’, he/she may sense excessive similarity and become increasingly

motivated to make him- or herself distinct.

Correspondingly, the consumer can attain the objective of remaining unique in

the online review community by contributing less to the review task and choosing

not to submit aproduct rating and review at all. When people are certain in their

judgments but perceive a large discrepancy from the group norm (and believe the

group’s opinion is harmful), they may exhibit strong normative conflict (Ashforth,

Kreiner, & Fugate, 2000; Hornsey, Oppes, & Svensson, 2002). For example, Sridhar

and Srinivasan (2012) reported that an online reviewer will experience normative

conflict when product failure occurs and the personal product experience

simultaneously deviates to an extreme degree from that of most other group

members.

Meanwhile, consumers tend to overlook conformity pressure and instead

behave altruistically even if their actions deviate from the majority (Hornsey et al.,

2002), especially if they believe their actions will benefit the group (Dreu, 2002;

Louis, Taylor, & Neil, 2004). Packer (2008) pointed out that normative conflict

induces greater dissenting behavior when people are given the opportunity to make

their behaviors highly visible and to explain the reason behind their deviation. In the

current study, when a consumer’s product experience largely deviates from the

majority, the consumer is expected to encounter a high degree of normative conflict.

By providing a distinct online rating (compared to the majority) based on his/her

own personal product experience, the consumer reduces normative conflict and has
a motive to correct seemingly inaccurate online ratings provided by other consumers

(Sridhar & Srinivasan, 2012).

Confidence is an important dimension of expectation (Yi & La, 2003), referring

in this case to “a cognitive component that reflects the degree of conviction or

certainty with which a belief or attitude is held” (Krishnan & Smith, 1998).

Consumers can hold the same expectation valence but may exhibit different levels of

expectation confidence. Yi and La (2003) noted that expectation confidence can be

measured by the probability or certainty of outcomes expected from a product

purchase or consumption.

In the online review context, Yin, Mitra, and Zhang (2016) stated that a

consumer’s level of confidence in his/her initial opinion of a product (i.e., product

expectations) can be measured by the dispersion (i.e., standard deviation) of other

consumers’ prior review ratings. Review rating dispersion reflects the consensus

among prior consumers (Yin et al., 2016), with a high degree of dispersion indicating

low agreement among customers (Moe & Trusov, 2011). According to Petrocelli et

al. (2007), lower agreement leads consumers to be less confident in the validity of

average review ratings, which in turn leads to less certainty in their initial product

expectations. In other words, consumers’ disconfirmation tends to be less

pronounced when expectations are uncertain.

In the study of Hart et al. (2009), indicated that as people become less

confident in their expectations or initial beliefs, they tend to experience less

psychological discomfort upon encountering disconfirmation. Several studies have

indicated that confidence can moderate the attitude–behavior relationship (Bennett

& Harrell, 1975; Fazio & Zanna, 1978; Krishnan et al, 1998). In a laboratory
experiment, Spreng et al. (2001) found confidence in expectations to moderate the

influence of disconfirmation on customer satisfaction, with higher confidence

leading to a significant influence of disconfirmation on satisfaction and lower

confidence leading to an insignificant influence.

Moreover, Bronner and de Hoog (2011) reported that the motivations of

vacationers who contribute to online review sites are self-directed motivation, social

benefits, consumer empowerment, and helping the company, the most frequently

mentioned of which was concern for others. In add on, Limbu, Wolf, and Lunsford

(2011) revealed that when it comes to online retailers, some websites provide very

little information about their companies and sellers, due to which consumers feel

insecure to purchase from these sites.

According to other research, consumers are hesitant, due to scams and feel

anxious to share their personal information with online vendors (Miyazaki and

Fernandez, 2001; Limbu et al., 2011). Online buyers expect websites to provide

secure payment and maintain privacy. Consumers avoid online purchases because of

the various risks involved with it and do not find internet shopping secured (Cheung

and Lee, 2003; George, Ogonkuya, Lasisi, and Elumah, 2015; Banerjee, Dutta, and

Dazgupta, 2010).

Consumers perceive the internet as an unsecured channel to share their

personal information like emails, phone and mailing address, debit card or credit

card numbers, etc. because of the possibility of misuse of that information by other

vendors or any other person (Lim and Yazdanifard, 2014; Kumar, 2016; Alam and

Yasin, 2010; Nazir, Tayyab, Sajid, Rushid, and Javid, 2012). Some sites make it vital

and important to share personal details of shoppers before shopping, due to which
people abandon their shopping carts (Yazdanifard and Godwin, 2011). About 75% of

online shoppers leave their shopping carts before they make their final decision to

purchase or sometimes just before making the payments (Cho, Kang, and Cheon,

2006; Gong, Stump, and Maddox, 2013).

According to HennigThurau et al. (2004), concern for other consumers is

strongly associated with altruism, which has been acknowledged as an important

motivation in other studies (Ho & Dempsey, 2010; Sundaram, Mitra, & Webster,

1998). This motivation can apply to positive and negative experiences (Hennig-

Thurau et al., 2004). It has become more popular among customers to buy online, as

it is handier and time-saving (Huseynov and Yildirim, 2016; Mittal, 2013).

Convenience, fun and quickness are the prominent factors that have increased the

consumer’s interest in online shopping (Lennon, 2008).

Later, busy lifestyles and long working hours also make online shopping a

convenient and time-saving solution over traditional shopping. Consumers have the

comfort of shopping from home, reduced traveling time and cost and easy payment

(Akroush and Al-Debei, 2015). Furthermore, price comparisons can be easily done

while shopping through online mode (Aziz and Wahid, 2018; Martin, Mortimer, and

Andrews, 2015). According to another study, the main influencing factors for online

shopping are availability, low prices, promotions, comparisons, customer service,

user friendly, time and variety to choose from (Jadhav and Khanna, 2016). Moreover,

website design and features also encourage shoppers to shop on a particular website

that excite them to make the purchase.

Despite so many advantages, some customers may feel online shopping risky and

not trustworthy. The research proposed that there is a strong relationship between
trust and loyalty, and most often, customers trust brands far more than a retailer

selling that brand (Bilgihan, 2016; Chaturvedi, Gupta, and Sigh Handa, 2016). In the

case of online shopping, there is no face-to-face interaction between seller and

buyer, which makes it non-socialize, and the buyer is sometimes unable to develop

the trust (George et al., 2015). Trust in the e-commerce retailer is crucial to convert

potential customer to actual customer.

However, the internet provides unlimited products and services, but along with

those unlimited services, there is perceived risk in digital shopping such as mobile

application shopping, catalogue or mail order (Tsiakis, 2012; Forsythe, Liu, Shannon,

and Gardner, 2006; Aziz and Wahid, 2018).

Conceptual framework

IV
Reviews DV

The Impact towards Consumers'

and
Decision to Buy
Ratings

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the study

This study aims to distinguish the impact of reviews and ratings on consumers

decisions to buy from an online shop. It consists of two variables: reviews and ratings

as independent variables and the impact of consumers decisions to buy as

dependent variables. Hence, Sutanto & Aprianingsih (2016) define online customer
reviews as a form of electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), which can be said to be a

new marketing communication and can influence and play a role in the purchasing

decision process. Also, Shah, Aziz, Jaffari, and Waris (2012) point out that purchase

intention is a type of decision-making concerning the reasons why a customer tends

to buy a particular brand.

Related Literatures

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies gathered by

the researchers that are closely relevant to the study. This review focuses more on

online shopping alone about the comparisons, perceptions, factors and intentions of

a consumer. This chapter also gives reader insights regarding the concepts used in

this study.

Review and Ratings

According to Gutt, Nuemann, and Zimmermann (2019), online reviews of

products and services have become an integral component of product information

on e-commerce platforms and are often used as strategic instrument to gain

competitive advantage. E-commerce has significantly expanded over the past few

years and has taken on greater significance in our daily lives, particularly in light of

COVID-19's recent influence (Hasanat, Hoque, Shikha, Anwar, Abdul, & Huam 2020).

In add on, Klaus and Changchit (2019), stated that the absence of physical

interaction with the product, they aid consumers to take decisions based on

experiences shared by previous users on the e-commerce platform.

Online reviews refer to the comments made by consumers on the platform

about the usage experience, price, quality and other aspects of the purchased goods

after making a purchase on the Internet for reference use by other purchasers.
( Siyuan et al. 2020) argues that online reviews can provide consumers with a more

accurate reference of product parameters and reduce consumption risks, but due to

the unsoundness of the online shopping mechanism, a large amount of false

information exists, which has a very bad impact on other potential consumers.

Therefore, establishing a scientific online information screening mechanism and

improving the quality of online reviews is the primary goal of optimizing the current

online environment.

Furthermore, Guo, Wang, and Wu (2020), showed that pleasant online

customer reviews lead to a higher purchase likelihood compared to unpleasant

ones. They also found that perceived credibility and perceived diagnostically have a

significant influence on purchase decisions, but only in the context of unpleasant

online customer reviews. There are distinguishable different types of online review

platforms. The grouping of these platforms encompasses programs majorly created

for consumer comments, such as the video-sharing platforms, which were originally

meant for other purposes but attracted reviews for some products, and the

independent customer review platforms (Wang, 2020).

Online reviews can be divided into positive and negative reviews, and in

general, negative reviews provide a better basis for consumer shopping and

business improvement than positive reviews. Along with Shanyan, Yue, and Yancai

(2022), found that the higher the number of reviews, the better the product sales,

and that a larger number of negative reviews would discourage consumer behavior.

The co-existence of positive and negative reviews can also lead to information full of

ambivalence. Also, Cox (2020), stated that negative or neutral reviews provide the

company with an opportunity to learn and develop. It can see exactly where the
business is failing to meet customer needs and remove common roadblocks in

the customer journey.

In the study of Zhao, Wang, Min and Chen (2020), it shows that the negative

impact of default positive reviews is a consequence of interfering with consumer

judgment and reducing consumers' perceived product diagnosticity. Yet, Chen and

Ku (2021), found out a positive relationship between diversified online review

websites as accelerators for online impulsive buying. Furthermore, some studies

have reported on other aspects of online product reviews, including the impact of

online reviews on product satisfaction. In the claimed of Changchit and Klaus

(2020), relative effects of review credibility, and review relevance on overall online

product review impact (Mumuni, O'Reilly, Macmillan, Cowley, and Kelley, 2020),

functions of reviewer’s gender, reputation and emotion on the credibility of

negative online product reviews (Craciun and Moore, 2019).

In accord to Cox (2020), the other major reason for obtaining reviews is the

opportunity to share them with potential customers. Positive reviews can be used as

customer testimonials. In fact, 91% of consumers read at least one review before

purchasing a product. The reviews come in the form of stars which rank the level of

satisfaction that consumers have with the products that they bought (Saumya,

Singh, Baabdullah, Rana, and Dwivedi, 2018). In many instances, reviews are out of

five-star ratings where five stars depict high-quality products or services while one

star indicates the contrary which could be a dismal performance of the commodity

or poor customer service that failed to satisfy the customer. So, the consumers will

leave behind their ratings and the sites average all the ratings to come up with a

general rating for the product or service (Saumya et al., 2018).

 Other than the electronic commerce platforms, these users can always make

reviews of the products or services on dedicated online review platforms such as

Yelp (Gaillot, 2021), and these platforms are impartial and strive to capture the

accurate opinion of the different users of the products that are reviewed on the

platform for the legitimacy of the practice and to avoid misinformation. On the

other hand, some dedicated online reviewers choose to review different products on

their social media platforms such as YouTube of the purchases that they make

(Gaillot, 2021). In this environment, a hypercognitive generation has grown up

knowing how to gather and cross-reference a wide range of sources of knowledge,

as well as how to integrate virtual as well as offline experiences (Francis and Hoefel,

2018).

Hence, online reviews and influencers affect the different market segments

in different ways, segmentation based on the age of these consumers is important

in describing the different impacts of the marketing approaches within the intended

markets. Young people fulfilled such social roles even before the word "influencer"

was invented, by originating and interpreting trends (Francis & Hoefel, 2018). The

more reviews, the better, and one study found that consumers want to see at least

40 reviews to justify trusting an average star rating. However, a few reviews are still

better than no reviews. A wealth of positive words can have a measurable impact on

the sales, driving purchases and creating a base of consumers who will stand behind

retailer and the product (Regan, 2023).

Additionally, online reviews are a key part of the buying process, especially

toward the bottom of the funnel. Reviews also help confirm the brand’s authority

and expertise. When costumers have successfully helped others overcome problems
and achieve positive outcomes (or simply helped them to fall in love with your

product), it makes them more likely to trust the claims (Licata, 2023). Online

customer reviews are defined as product or service evaluations made by customers

on third-party websites, which directly affect the company's image. Information

received by consumers has become a strategic factor in corporate communications

as it shapes public evaluations of the perceived quality and value of services

(Rodriguez-Diaz and Rodriguez-Voltes, 2018; Zhou, 2018).

Consumer Decision to Buy

Purchase intention is a customer's willingness to buy certain products or

services. Purchase intentions measure the respondent’s attitude towards purchasing

a product or using a service (Abumalloh, 2018). Purchase intention refers to

repurchase intention in the future of customers and the willingness to recommend

their friends use a platform to purchase products in the future (Nuanchaona,

Siripipatthanakul, Norittamont, and Phyayaphrom, 2021). Before purchase

decisions, during purchase decisions, and after customer purchase decisions are all

critical levels of decision linked to the buying power intentions of the individual

behind the individual's attention (Sosanuy, Siripipatthanakul, Norittamont, and

Phyayaphrom, 2021). Suppose a person intends to buy a particular product. In that

case, their purchase intention indicates that they are deciding or a willingness to

choose whether a customer wants to purchase that product (Hing and Vui, 2021).

In the study of Morah (2019), it revealed the online buying and selling have

become more important parts of many people’s lives. Students and parents rely on

the internet to acquire and sell textbooks at affordable prices. Both businesses and

customers have embraced online sales as a cheaper and more convenient way to
shop, but just like anything associated with the internet, there are benefits and

dangers associated with shopping online. The relation of this to the study is the

good and bad effect of online shopping to the customers where they buy products

that is cheaper than the other to save money and that helps the students in their

needs to help them in their expenses.

Further, Saudi Arabia’s future expansion plan targets to increase the

percentage of e-commerce transactions by 2030, up to 70 percent higher than in

previous years (Jan, Manal, Rizwan, Brahimi, 2021). Over the past years, the

economy of Saudi Arabia underwent an exceptional growth supported by the steady

shift from offline shopping to internet shopping. In Saudi Arabia, the young

population increased its broadband and smartphone perceptions, and the

government’s enhanced focus on e-commerce continues to drive the shift towards

online purchasing. Although Saudi Arabian shoppers prefer the traditional shopping

channels, online shopping continues to grow, due to the convenience of in-home

deliveries (Albliwi 2021; Al-mani 2020).

Customer behavior is the study of the psychological, behavioral, and emotional

processes that affect people’s decisions about what they consume, how much they

consume, and how frequently they place orders for products and services

(Mothersbaugh, David, Hawskins, Kleiser, and Watson, 2020). Understanding

customer behaviors before and after purchases, is aided by several disciplines,

including economics and psychology. It also assists businesses in identifying new

potentials (Qazzafi, 2019). Baabdullah and Ansari (2020) mentioned that Saudis’

online spending depends on their confidence in online stores, where consumers

often purchase goods at what they believe is a good price.

 Meanwhile, Nachar (2019), found that customers’ intentions to embrace

online shopping is predicted by the e-commerce platform simplicity of use and

effectiveness technology. In add on, Valaskova, Durana, and Adamko (2021),

examined the changes in consumer buying behaviors, as a result of the COVID-19

pandemic. The pandemic affected different aspects of consumer behaviors in

Slovakia. This included spending, investments and financial assets, and social and

financial security. The study found that factors, such as customer income, age, and

area of expertise, have a significant impact on buying behaviors.

Customer wants, desires, and loyalties are changing as a result of the

electronic revolution, which has broken barriers and created an intense demand

among retailers and service suppliers (Al-Ayed, 2022). There are about 34% of Saudi

Arabian consumers prefer to purchase their desired brands in stores with lower

prices. While, 54% of Saudi consumers are trading down to less expensive brands or

luxury labels, resulting in a high satisfaction with merchandise and little desire to

purchase costly items. Consumers in Saudi Arabia are selective in spending their

income, progressively dividing their expenditures, by either moving up or down,

where 11% of Saudi consumers trade up and 16% trade down ( McKinsey, 2018).

The web browsing of the product and price comparisons are the significant

activities engaged by a customer. Once a customer selects the product or service,

user accounts are created by providing personal information. Finally, a customer

completed by delivering the actual purchase preferences, and monetary and private

information (Athapaththu & Kulathunga, 2018). Purchase intention is considered a

dependent variable, and it can be inferred that it is a valuable attribute to examine

and is employed as the outcome variable (Shim, Moon, Song, and Lee, 2021).
Therefore, purchase intention is a willingness to pay or purchase via online shopping

sites and apps during the COVID-19 in this study. Customer experience has become

a central topic in marketing research due to the fact that businesses are increasingly

realizing that their success largely depends on providing positive shopping

experiences to their customers (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020).

Businesses utilize more of their financial resources to create positive and

memorable customer experiences that can motivate customers to spend more

money on products (Bleier, 2019). Positive customer experience plays a critical role

in generating desirable outcomes for businesses, such as strong emotional

attachment with brands, and increased customer satisfaction leading to customer

loyalty (Anshu, 2022). Given the extant literature regarding online impulsive buying

and the OCSE, it is reasonable to assume that both functional and psychological

components of the OCSE may influence online impulsive buying (Pandey and

Chawla, 2018; Kuppelwieser and Klaus, 2020).

Online Shop or Online Business

According to the article of Market Business News, online shopping is the

activity or action of buying products or services over the internet. It means going

online, landing on a seller’s website, selecting something, and arranging for its

delivery. The buyer either pays for the good or service online with a credit or debit

card or upon delivery. In this article, the term ‘online’ means ‘on the internet. The

Search relation of this to the study is the process of online shopping in different

people that gave them advantage paying through credit or debit cards to buy some

products in an online shop with its services.

 In the study stated by Vilner (2018), online shopping is no longer just a fad, it’s

a lifestyle. In order to capitalize on this shift in lifestyle, retailers have taken to the e-

commerce world and are setting new norms for online businesses. Websites are

smarter, shipping is quicker, and expectations are higher. In order to keep up with

the market, online stores have started to gravitate towards new trends. In addition

to, Montaldo (2019), revealed that online stores are highly competitive, not only

with other online stores, but also with brick-and-mortar competitors. Price

comparison websites make deal hunting easier and also help guide shoppers to

online stores with the best reputations by posting reviews submitted by other

shoppers. Also, Virtual stores allow people to shop from the comfort of their homes

without the pressure of a sales person, and online marketplaces provide a new and

more convenient venue for the exchange of virtually all types of goods and services

(Morah, 2019).

E-commerce or internet shopping is a form of commerce that enables

consumers to purchase goods or services using a web search engine. Users are able

to purchase online utilizing a variety of devices, such as desktops, tablets, and

mobiles. There were different terms used to reflect this e-commerce, such as e-

shopping, e-web-store, e-shop, e-store, internet shop, web-shop, web-store, online

store, online storefront and virtual store. Online shopping refers to purchasing goods

and services over the internet, also known as e-commerce (Fu, Manogaran, Wu, Cao,

Jiang, ang Yang, 2020).

Objective of the Study

This study aims to identify the impact of reviews and ratings on consumers’

decision to buy in an online shop.

Specifically, the researchers will seek to:

1. Identify the importance of reviews and ratings in an online businesses;

2. Distinguish the effects of reviews and ratings towards consumer decision to buy in

online shop;

3. Determine the influence of reviews and ratings in consumers buying decision; and

4. Relate the effectiveness of reviews and ratings on consumers’ decision.

Significance of the Study

The result of the study will benefit the following:

To the Online Business Shop– It helps to improve their company's social credibility

and provide positive impressions to potential customers. It also allows potential

customers to trust the company's business and feel comfortable making a purchase

that will help the company excel and become profitable.

To the Customer – The result of this study helps them assess the product for their

purchase decision-making since they understand the product's performance, quality,

and service based on the recent buyer’s perspective through ratings and reviews.

This could provide awareness that will make the consumer wiser in terms of their

buying decisions.

To the Social Media User – The outcome of the study will help them gain a better

understanding of how social media affects their day-to-day lives in society. It also

gives insights to people who engage in online business. Hence, both online shoppers

and online businesses connect together and benefit from one another

To the Researcher – It helps to foster critical thinking and analytical skills through

hands-on learning, defining academic, career, and personal interests. Also, it gave
researchers credibility to understand the importance of consumer decisions in the

online world, which broadened their knowledge and understanding.

To the Future Researcher – This could serve as base-line data that will guide future

researchers on related issues. It may also provide further investigation similar to this

study and serve as their foundation as well as extra literature for a meaningful,

relevant, and trustworthy investigation.

Scope and Limitation

This research study is conducted primarily and is only focused on the impact

of reviews and ratings on consumers' decisions to buy in an online shop. The

researchers in this study will randomly select 50 online shoppers which is a special

class marketing management student as their respondents. Also, the researchers will

use quantitative correlation analysis and a survey to gather data. This study will be

conducted at Gensantos Foundation College, Inc., in the years 2023–2024.

In terms of the study's limitations, it will be conducted by special-class

marketing management students; therefore, individuals may refuse to participate in

this study. Furthermore, respondents may not provide reliable information, resulting

in prejudice and a one-sided outcome of the study. However, the conclusion of this

study may or may not affect other loyal online shoppers. Likewise, the respondents'

participation was voluntary, and no compensation was demanded.

Definition of Terms

The following terms in this study are defined conceptually and operationally for

better understanding of the readers.

Buying Decision
Conceptually - A typical decision-making process, when consumers become aware of

products/brands, search for information, compare offers, and perform a cost-benefit

analysis before actually buying the desired product (Epure, 2019).

Operationally - It is the end of the buyer decision process and refers to the decision

to buy goods, services, inventions, companies or other things. The goal of a buying

decision is usually to maximize benefits or sales. To understand how to plan

marketing

and business strategies, it is important to understand the types of buying decisions

and the buyer decision process.

Consumer

Conceptually - consumer is a category that belongs within the food chain of an

ecosystem. It refers predominantly to animals. Consumers are unable to make their

own energy, and instead rely on the consumption and digestion of producers or

other consumers, or both, to survive (Knapp, 2020).

Operationally - the people or organizations that purchase products or services. The

term also refers to hiring goods and services. They are humans or other economic

entities that use a good or service. Furthermore, they do not sell on that item that

they bought.They are the end users in the distribution chain of goods and services. In

fact, sometimes the consumer might not be the buyer.

Rating

Conceptually - a rating is an evaluation of a bond or stock done by a rating agency or

analyst after carefully studying it. ( Vineeth, 2023)

Operationally - it is referring to a set of opinions, expressed and describe the details

of the product design.

Review

Conceptually - a review says more about the service itself, and potential customers

rely on it when deciding whether to book your company or not. It usually includes

specific information about the service quality and other details regarding it. It can

help you improve your methods and make them more efficient. (Stewart, 2022)

Operationally - refers to the feedback or opinion that a customer had the specific

product or items purchased.

Online Business

Conceptually - is a business conducted entirely on the internet. Online business may

encompass selling goods and services, as well as SaaS (software as a service )

solutions (Alex, 2022).

Operationally - It is referring to any form of media and usually used internet

connection to promote and sell the product around the world.

 Chapter II

METHOD

This chapter presents the research method. It focuses on the method used in

conducting this study, which covers the research design, the respondents, the locale

of the study, the methods of research, the instruments, the data gathering

procedures, the statistical tools, and the ethical considerations used in the study.

Research Design

This study employs a quantitative correlation, non-experimental design

utilizing the correlation technique. Quantitative research is the process of collecting

and analyzing numerical data. It can be used to find patterns and averages, make

predictions, test causal relationships, and generalize results to wider populations

(Bhandari, 2023). Correlational research design is a type of quantitative method that

examines the relationship between two or more variables from the same group of

subjects. This design will be used since the aim of this study is to determine the

impact of reviews and ratings on consumers' buying decisions in an online shop.

Research Locale
 The present study will be conducted at Gensantos Foundation College Inc.

specifically in the Special Class Marketing Management department. Gensantos

Foundation College Inc. was established in 1994 at Bulaong Extension, General

Santos City 9500. At this time, the school is offering non board courses for special

class including: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in Marketing

Management (BSBA-MM), Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Major in

Financial Management (BSBA-FM), Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Major in Human Resource Development Management (BSBA-HRDM), and Bachelor

of Science in Entrepreneurship.
 Figure 2. Map of the Locale of the Study

Population and Sample

 The researchers randomly select one hundred forty (140)online shoppers of

special class marketing management students to participate in the study. The

sample of this study was selected through non-probability/non-random sampling

wherein the researchers choose the samples based solely on convenience.

According to Simkus (2023), convenience sampling (also called availability sampling,

accidental sampling, or non-random convenience sampling) is a method of non-

probability sampling where data is collected from an easily accessible and available

group of people. The individuals in the sample are selected not because they are

most representative of the entire population, but because they are most easily

accessible to the researcher. The researchers utilized the convenience sampling

considering that it is the easiest way to gather respondents and conduct a survey.

Research Instrument

This researchers will utilize a modified questionnaire the impact of online

product review on purchasing decision from Holleschovsky and Constantinides

(2015) to conduct the study. The instrument will be consisted of 16 items that will be

use to determine the online shoppers purchasing decision which is the special class

marketing management students. The researcher will deliver the survey

questionnaire, which will be completed by respondents who will be educated about

the research.

The gathered data from the special class marketing management student will

be use by the researcher to generate the different purchasing decision as an online

shoppers. It helps to provide valuable insight and it becomes the first- hand primary
data that is collected, maintained, and analyzed to achieve the main goal of this

study. The modified survey questionnaire used by the researcher will become the

most reliable, accurate, and applicable only to this study. The type of questions

provided by the researcher and the answers of the actual respondents rely entirely

on the goal of the survey is administered, all selected respondents of special class

marketing students would receive the same question.

Data Collection

The researchers will do the following procedure to gather adequate and

sufficient data needed for the completion of the study: First, The researchers will

send a letter to the school president of Gensantos Foundation College Inc., stating

their purpose which is to conduct an educational research study. The affixed

signature is the sign of permission of the educational research to be conducted.

Second, the researchers will ask a consent to one hundred forty (140) online

shoppers of special class marketing management students. The validated survey

questionnaire will be distributed to the selected respondents. Third, properly

completed survey form will be gathered by the researcher. Lastly, the data gathered

from this research instrument were tallied and computed for interpretation

according to the frequency of items checked by the participants.

Statistical Tools

The following statistical treatments will be used to answer the problem of this

study;
 A Sloven's formula will be utilized to conclude the impact of reviews and

ratings towards online shoppers purchasing decisions which is the special class

marketing management students. Slovin's formula provides the sample size (n)

using the known population size (N) and the acceptable error value (e). Fill the N and

e values into the formula n = N ÷(1 + Ne2). The resulting value of n equals the sample

size to be used.

To understand the core flow of this study focusing in the social influences

about the impact of reviews and ratings to online customers, the researchers

emphasized the following: Identifying the importance of revies and ratings in a way

that is measures the behaviors of the online customers that will lead to emphasize

how significant the reviews and ratings in online businesses. Through this, the

researchers can accumulate valuable data that will support this aspect strongly.

Moreover, gathering the preliminary identification of its importance, researchers

proceed to distinguish the effects of revies and ratings towards customers decision

making; what are the different sub-factors that shaping the distinction of it in

customers decision in terms of purchasing online. This will systematically create a

relation to the next procedure which is to determine the influence of reviews and

ratings in customers decision making. From the prior procedure it can finally

proceed in relating the effectiveness of customers revies and ratings to online

businesses. Hence, researchers construct relevant datas that could help to create a

relevant conclusions on how online business could improve its potential success.

Ethical Consideration
 In conducting the study, the researchers engaged ethical considerations in

order to maintain proper procedures in the entire durations of this study. This study

must done with the approval granted by the research adviser and the School

President of Gensantos Foundation College Inc., to justify the impact of reviews and

ratings towards consumers' decision to buy in an online shop. The selected

respondents on this study participated voluntarily and not obliged to answer the

problem if they thought that it can destroy their dignity. This means, the

respondents' of this research study are well informed about the research and they

have a power of freedom of choice to decide whether to decline or participate. The

researcher will not add or change any data gathered. Intellectual property rights of

the authors whose works are cited on this paper specifically in the review of related

literature and studies are also bi given importance.

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Appendix A

Survey Questionnaire

(Modified from Holleschovsky and Constantinides, 2015)

Name: (Optional)._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Direction: Indicate your answer by putting a check mark (✔️) on the corresponding

items.

1. Which online shopping apps do you use? (Multiple answer are possible)

o Amazon (1)
o AliExpress (2)
o eBay (3)
o Wish (4)
o Lazada (5)
o Shopee (6)
o Instacart (7)
o Others:(8) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. How often are you checking online customers reviews before a product purchase?

o Never (1)
o Rarely (2)
o Sometimes (3)
o Quite Often (4)
o Very Often (5)

3. Have you ever checked online customer reviews/ opinions before purchasing a
product?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)
4. When looking for product reviews what platforms do you mostly choose?
(Multiple answer are possible)

o Retailing websites (e.g. Amazon) (1)

o Independent reviewing platforms (e.g. Tripadvisor.com; revoo.com) (2)
o Video platforms (e.g. YouTube) (3)
o Personal (reviewing) blogs (4)
o Others:(5)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

5. What kind of online reviews do you use as a basis for your buying decision?
(Multiple answer are possible)

o Qualitative (written description or video) (1)

o Quantitative (a scale/ star rating from e.g. 1 to 5) (2)

6. Which kind of review do you consider as more credible?

o Qualitative (written description or video) (1)

o Quantitative (a scale/ star rating from e.g. 1 to 5) (2)

7. What kind of review do you consider as more user-friendly?

o Qualitative (written description or video) (1)

o Quantitative (a scale/ star rating from e.g. 1 to 5) (2)

8. Media support (photo/ video/ sound) make a review more.....? (Multiple answer
are possible)

o Credible (1)
o User-friendly (2)
o None of the two above (3)

9. Reviewing platforms mostly offer sorting or filtering options (helpfulness/

relevance, date, rating, view count). Do yo choose to use those options? If yes,
which?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)

10. Does a sorting option for reviews make the review more user-friendly?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)

11. I consider an overview of all reviews in the form of a summary statistic (e.g.
average star rating) as....? (Multiple answer are possible)
 o Credible (1)
o User-friendly (2)
o None of the two above (3)

12. I consider statistics about the total number of reviews existing for a product
as....? (Multiple answer are possible)

o Credible (1)
o User-friendly (2)
o None of the two above (3)

13. Does a review appear more credible to you when a detailed profile/ identity of
the user, who has created the review is visible?

o Yes (1)
o No (2)

14. If yes, which profile commcharacteristics of the reviewer are important to you?
(Multiple answer are possible)

o Member activity statistics like the number of reviews the user has created in
total or his/her duration of member ship (1)
o Personal characteristics like the user's interest, education or friendship (2)

15.How very influential online reviews and ratings in your purchase decisions?

o Very influential
o Somewhat influencial
o Neutral
o Somewhat Not influential
o Not influential at All

16. What factors, other than reviews and ratings, influence your decision to buy a
product online? (Select all that apply)

o Price
o Brand Reputation
o Shipping and Delivery Options
o Product Description
o Personal Recommendations
o Other (please specify)