Big review platforms like Amazon, Yelp and TripAdvisor are no strangers to legal troubles, but they’re normally on the other side of the courtroom.

Big review platforms like Amazon, Yelp and TripAdvisor are no strangers to legal troubles, but they’re normally on the other side of the courtroom.

Retailers, restaurateurs and hoteliers are often victims of negative reviews posted by competitors, and take legal action to have the fakes removed.

However, earlier this month, Amazon announced it is suing four websites offering Amazon merchants 5 star reviews from just £13

After 20 years of allowing fake reviewers free reign, Amazon has finally sprung into action. However, cutting off a few producers of fake reviews won’t stop the culture Amazon has created.

These four sites are just the tip of the iceberg. Paid reviews are widespread, and not just on Amazon. In 2012, analyst Gartner predicted that by 2014, 10-15% of all reviews would be fake.

On occasion retailers or brands get found out, like Samsung did when it had orchestrated fake bad reviews of its competitor’s new HTC One.

Consumer reviews are a critical component of almost all consumer decisions.

It is essential that they can be trusted.

Consumers think they can suss out the fake ones, but professor Bing Liu of the department of computer science at the University of Illinois is not so sure.

He said: “I am doubtful that people can really spot fake reviews reliably (especially those well written ones).

I have done experiments with over 30 students to show otherwise. One of the fallacies is that people usually think others would write like them or should write in certain ways.”

A news story like this affects all retailers that collect and show customer reviews honestly, diminishing public trust in their reviews despite them having nothing to do with it.

But there is hope, finally. The UK’s CMA has launched an investigation into the reviews business, and I hope they ultimately decide to take action. Through its AFNOR certification, France has already taken the first step by defining ‘the right way to do reviews’.

What is right? Authenticity. To write a review, you have to have bought the product - and the easiest way to validate this is via proof of purchase.

I acknowledge this method is not perfect, but it is one giant leap forward into restoring faith in reviews.

Of all the review giants, Amazon is best placed to take the lead and change the standard of online reviews.

We have urged them a few times already to help all consumers and retailers, as well as review solution providers like us at Reevoo, by taking the simple drastic step of deleting all reviews for which it can’t find any proof of purchase.

Sure, that would wipe millions of reviews from its website, but it would restore trust in those that remain, not just on its own site, but anywhere people see reviews.

  • Peter Simpson, chief marketing officer at Reevoo