Exploring the Serial Position Effects of Online Consumer Reviews on Heuristic vs. Systematic Information Processing and Consumer Decision-Making

Abstract Online consumer reviews serve an important marketing function, as they provide useful consumer-generated product information that could help online shoppers evaluate a product for making a purchase decision. To capitalize on this consumer-driven marketing opportunity, a common practice among marketers, for example, is to display these reviews from “highest” to “lowest” ratings to strategically “guide” online shoppers to access and process these reviews. The current study examined how the serial position placement of online consumer reviews might influence the systematic and heuristic information processing style leading to product evaluation and purchase decision-making. Results showed that consumer reviews published in an ascending order of ratings led to more systematic information processing, which in turn was positively related to perceived review helpfulness. The opposite was true for the placement effects of consumer reviews on heuristic processing, and the relationship between heuristic processing and perceived review helpfulness. Consumers’ prior brand attitude had a positive association with systematic processing and perceived review helpfulness, in addition to a negative relationship with heuristic processing. While perceived review helpfulness and perceived e-commerce website credibility were positively associated with each other, the latter was similarly linked to consumer intentions to shop on the e-commerce website.