“If you loved our product”: Do conditional review requests harm retailer loyalty? |
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| Institution: | 1. College of Business, Lehigh University, USA;2. Albers School of Business and Economics, Seattle University, USA;1. Independent Researcher, Shanghai 200001, China;2. University of Queensland, Colin Clark Building (39), St Lucia QLD 4072, Australia;3. Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 Univ. Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2N3N9;1. DePaul University, Driehaus College of Business, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604, United States;2. University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics & Business Zagreb, Trg J. F. Kennedyja 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;3. Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, 1845 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, United States;4. Keio University, Graduate School of Business Administration, 4-1-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku, Yokohama 2238526, Japan;1. Management & Marketing Department, John L. Grove College of Business, Shippensburg University;2. Area of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Rawls College of Business, Texas Tech University, 703 Flint Avenue, MS 2101, Lubbock, TX, 79409;1. Leeds Business School, City Campus, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, LS1 3HB, United Kingdom;2. Department of Marketing, Antwerp Campus, KU Leuven, Hendrik Conscienceplein 8, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium;1. Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 298530, Fort Worth, TX, 76129, USA;2. Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University, 455 Business Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA |
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| Abstract: | Online retailers frequently solicit reviews from customers who have recently purchased their products or services. This research examines how consumers react to conditional requests—wherein a retailer explicitly asks them to consider their experience but to only leave a review if this experience was favorable—versus more neutral unconditional requests. The provision of conditional requests is widespread, presumably because retailers believe that such requests will yield more positive reviews. Irrespective of whether these potential benefits materialize, the present research demonstrates that the consequences of conditional requests on customer loyalty (i.e., retailer engagement and repeat purchase behavior) are uniformly negative and surprisingly expansive. Six experiments with over 3,000 participants reveal that customers who receive conditional (vs. unconditional) requests are subsequently less loyal to the retailer, whom they perceive as manipulative and untrustworthy. This research also shows that easily implementable message modifications can attenuate (although not necessarily eliminate) the adverse effects of conditional requests on customer loyalty. Substantively, this work highlights how the messaging used in a review request affects customers’ inferences as well as their later judgments and behaviors. Managerially, the findings should exhort online retailers to exercise caution before sending conditional review requests given the risk of reputational harm. |
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