Ecommerce platforms should publish negative ratings, restrict low-rated products from re-listing: Survey 

About 58 percent of consumers in a survey said their negative ratings and reviews were not published by e-commerce platforms. Ninety percent of the respondents argued such platforms should restrict low-rated products by sellers from re-listing as another product, according to a survey conducted by community social media platform LocalCircles.

The survey results come at the back of the government’s announcement to develop a framework for keeping a check on fake reviews posted on e-commerce websites in a bid to protect consumer interest.

The consumer affairs ministry along with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held a virtual meeting on May 27 with stakeholders, including e-commerce entities, to discuss the magnitude of fake reviews on their platforms, before making the announcement.

In the survey, 90 percent of consumers who shop on e-commerce platforms responded negatively when asked if a product with a large number of low ratings and negative reviews, should be allowed to re-list without a review of the issues.

Only 2 percent said “Yes, they should be permitted to create a new listing of the product if they choose to” and 8 percent did not have an opinion. The question received 11,624 responses.

LocalCircles conducted the national study to understand consumers’ experience with reviews and ratings on e-commerce sites. The survey collected 69,500 responses from over 38,000 unique consumers located across 284 districts of India.

Among the respondents, 63 percent respondents were men, while 37 percent respondents were women. 44 percent of respondents were from tier one, 34 percent from tier two, and 22 percent of respondents were from tier three, four, and rural districts.

The platform then compared the findings with a similar survey conducted in 2019. It did not disclose the number of responses received in the 2019 survey.

According to the report, the percentage of consumers whose negative review or rating was held back by e-commerce sites has risen from 47 percent in 2019 to 58 percent in 2022.

Further, the report also said the percentage of respondents saying their reviews are published as is, has reduced from 27 percent to 23 percent in the same period. This might indicate e-commerce platforms’ lack of transparency in publishing verified consumers' product reviews and ratings on their platform, said the platform.

LocalCircles also said it will share the findings of this study with government stakeholders so that the government clearly understands the issue and drives corrective actions with e-commerce platforms.