Herding in online product choice

Previous research has shown that people are influenced by others when making decisions. This work presents three studies examining herding in product choices on the Internet. The first two studies addressed how two cues frequently found on the Internet, that is, sales volume and customer reviews, influence consumer on-line prod-uct choices. The third study examined the relative effectiveness of two recommendation sources. The experimental results revealed that subjects used the choices and evaluations of others as cues for mak-ing their own choices. However, herding effects are offset signifi-cantly by negative comments from others. Additionally, the recom-mendations of other consumers influence the choices of subjects more effectively than recommendations from an expert. Finally, implications of this work are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The emerging on-line economy provides consumers with easy access to numerous choices. Unlike traditional face-to-face retail environments, in which products can be seen and touched and customers can consult salespersons, transactions occur in a computer-mediated environment that provides no opportunities for experiencing a product or for face-to-face consultation before making a purchase. Facing numerous options, con-sumers may delay their purchases or make their choices by a simpl