Chinese Shoppers Are Critical Reviewers

In our widely digitalized world, online customer reviews are a critical factor for success in eCommerce. Next to a high quality, brand recognition, or a detailed and appealing product description, the opinions of other shoppers who already have experience with the product matter a lot to potential customers. Especially in the online shopping world, where people cannot “feel” the product by touching or trying it, product reviews create trust and reassurance among potential buyers. According to a recent survey on consumer review behavior by BrightLocal, 79% of consumers in the U.S. trust online reviews just as much as they would trust a personal recommendation by a friend or family member. In the same survey, 94% of respondents state that reading positive online reviews makes them more likely to use a business. But what kind of feedback do online shoppers mostly provide? Today, ecommerceDB.com features exclusive data of the Statista Global Consumer Survey on the online review and feedback behavior of eCommerce customers in Germany and China:

According to the Statista Global Consumer Survey content special Digital Lifestyles 2020, most online shoppers who review on products they purchased online provide positive feedback in both Germany and China. It is striking, on the other hand, that over half of eCommerce customers in China also gave negative feedback in the 12 months prior to the survey. Online shoppers in Germany seem less critical – only about one third wrote negative reviews.

Regarding the type of online feedback that is given in Germany and China, online shoppers in both countries mostly write about the actual product they bought, followed by delivery or shipping. Negative feedback on customer service and website usability is also rather common in China, with just under one fifth of online shoppers writing negative reviews on these topics, while less than 10% of shoppers in Germany give negative feedback on website usability and customer service. In general, the online feedback culture seems to be more strongly rooted in China than in Germany, according to what the survey found out: While 85% of Chinese respondents wrote online reviews in the 12 months prior to the survey, only 52% of respondents in Germany did.