Customer reviews have long been understood to have considerable influence over buying decisions. Research from Nottingham Trent University reveals that not all reviews are created equally, however, with negative reviews from Black reviewers perceived as less trustworthy than negative reviews from someone else.

Participants were asked to read fake hotel reviews, with some of the reviews left by people with a Black race profile picture, and some by reviewers with no avatar at all. They were asked to complete a questionnaire to gauge how trustworthy and credible the reviews were.

Less credible

The results suggest that reviews were seen as less credible when they appeared to come from a Black reviewer, but only when they posted negative reviews. The reverse was the case for reviewers with no profile picture, who were perceived as more credible when they posted negative reviews than positive ones.

What’s more, the experiment showed that readers were less likely to adopt information from Black reviewers, regardless of whether it was positive or negative.

“Previous research has shown that people give more credence to negative reviews when there is a profile picture attached. We did not see this in our study where negative reviews from Black reviewers were not well-received either in terms of credibility or adoption,” the researchers explain. “This shows us that racial cues inferred from profile pictures of reviewers, compared to absent profile pictures, influence other consumers’ positive or negative perceptions of the review.”

The researchers then set out to compare consumer reactions across a range of different races, with participants shown a series of mock hotel reviews, with the avatars representing White, Black, or Asian faces.

Mixed results

The results showed that the credibility of reviews still tended to be higher when they were more positive, White reviewers were still regarded as more credible than both the Black and Asian reviewers, with Black reviewers ranked lowest.

Regarding information adoption, positive reviews posted by Black, White and Asian consumers were all favorably adopted by their readers, but not equally. Both positive and negative opinions of Asian reviewers were favorably adopted, although not to the same degree as those of White reviewers.

Readers tended to adopt negative opinions expressed by White reviewers more than those of Asian or Black reviewers. In particular, Black reviewers prompted the least information adoption by readers when the review was negative.

“Overall, these results reflect the existence of White supremacy in the marketplace, but these views do not necessarily represent the values of the research participants,” the researchers explain. “It is more likely that they demonstrate unconscious bias in society.”

As a result, the researchers believe that companies should do more to educate consumers on the possibility of subconscious biases and what may trigger them. The findings should also make companies themselves more aware of the impact race may have on the online reviews they receive.

“Perhaps the most effective measure in fighting online racial bias, as has happened with other review sites, would be to stop using profile pictures on such platforms and instead offer the option of adding generic, landscape, system-provided profile pictures for users to choose from and add to their profiles,” the authors conclude.

“Accordingly, it is recommended that, when using platforms that currently use avatars with racial markers, businesses should consider additional metadata about interactions with these reviews, such as dwell time and engagement to determine the additional impact that bias may have on their platforms. This would avoid reinforcing existing racial biases and bubbles.”