Foreign-language Reviews: Help or Hindrance?
This addresses the problem of limited first-language reviews for non-English speakers in e-commerce, but it is incremental as it explores interface design without major methodological breakthroughs.
The study investigated whether showing additional reviews in a second language helps or hinders potential purchasers, finding that 26-28% of subjects clicked to see translations, and those who did were more likely to select products with foreign-language reviews.
The number and quality of user reviews greatly affects consumer purchasing decisions. While reviews in all languages are increasing, it is still often the case (especially for non-English speakers) that there are only a few reviews in a person's first language. Using an online experiment, we examine the value that potential purchasers receive from interfaces showing additional reviews in a second language. The results paint a complicated picture with both positive and negative reactions to the inclusion of foreign-language reviews. Roughly 26-28% of subjects clicked to see translations of the foreign-language content when given the opportunity, and those who did so were more likely to select the product with foreign-language reviews than those who did not.