BIS Mulls Marking Independent & Reward-Based Online Reviews Separately

In a bid to bring more fairness to online shopping websites reviews, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has suggested that the online sites administrators should make it easier for consumers to differentiate between authentic independent and reward-based reviews. It further suggested not to account ratings collected with rewards when calculating a product’s overall rating or service. 

As per the BIS suggestion, reward-based reviews should have separate ratings as well as different marks to make it prominent for consumers that they are different from other reviews.

Stakeholders will have to submit their feedback on the draft by November 10.

In a draft revising the Standards on Online Consumer Reviews: Principles and Requirements for Their Collection, Moderation and Publication, BIS made these suggestions. 

The draft also elaborates on what a reward or ‘reward programme’ could be in the form of cash, product, or prizes in competitions. For example, a reward could be a new product tester programme that lends a product to consumers to use for a period of time in return for a review.

In addition, rewards can be earned through cash or products or prizes in a competition such as a lottery-style draw.

The BIS has brought in a clause to suggest that ‘reviews collected with rewards’ should be excluded when calculating a product’s overall rating. To ensure transparency, it has been suggested to give reviews collected by rewards a separate overall rating.

In addition, the review will not depend on the content of the review submitted, whether it is positive or negative. The nature of the opportunity to receive an award and the terms and conditions will also have to be specified by review administrators.

Interestingly, BIS has also formulated a method to decide the authenticity of unsolicited reviews and confirm if the reviewers’ contacts are genuine. 

The move will have a strong impact on ecommerce marketplaces, food delivery platforms, and shopping ecommerce platforms, along with a host of other services as all of these fall under the broad category of online sites.

It is to be noted that the government finalised a draft framework on issues relating to counter fake reviews and unverified star ratings on ecommerce marketplaces, travel and hotel booking platforms earlier in September. 

According to an Inc42 report. India’s ecommerce market currently has a size of $100 Bn, which is estimated to reach $400 Bn in 2030 as ecommerce becomes more mainstream, the total number of online shoppers is projected to reach 350 Mn by 2025, from the current 165 Mn shoppers.