More Americans are turning to online video reviews instead of visiting stores to compare products before making a purchase. According to Pew Research, 55% of Americans reported watching online product reviews as early as a decade ago. By late 2024, 62% said they used TikTok to view product reviews and recommendations. As video content continues to shape consumer behaviour, businesses and marketers are increasingly interested in understanding whether video reviews actually influence purchasing decisions and, if so, how they can be used most effectively.
Research by Muhammad Jawad, Clinical Assistant Professor of Information, Risk, and Operations Management at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin, suggests that video reviews can indeed boost purchasing decisions—but only when they are presented at the right time. His findings reveal that the same video review can either encourage a purchase or have little impact, depending on where consumers are in their decision-making journey. Rather than the content alone, the timing of exposure plays a critical role in determining its effectiveness.
Jawad’s interest in the topic stemmed from his own shopping habits. When considering a product, he typically begins by searching online to explore available options and then turns to YouTube for review videos. These videos provide information that text reviews often cannot, such as demonstrations of how a product looks, feels, and functions in real-world situations. While recognising the unique value of video reviews, he wanted to determine when they provide the greatest benefit to consumers making purchase decisions.
To investigate, Jawad and his co-author, Raquel Benbunan-Fich of the City University of New York, conducted an experiment involving 120 undergraduate students. Participants were asked to imagine purchasing a smartphone case as a gift. The shopping experience was designed to mirror real-world online purchasing behaviour. First, they reviewed eight smartphone cases and narrowed their choices to two finalists. Next, they selected a final product from those two options. Different groups received different combinations of review formats during each stage of the process.
The results showed that matching review format to the appropriate stage significantly improved consumer outcomes. Participants who used text reviews during the initial narrowing-down phase and video reviews during the final selection stage performed substantially better than those who experienced the reverse sequence. They rated review quality 9% higher, engaged with the information 16% more deeply, and demonstrated 18% stronger purchase intent. According to Jawad, participants were more likely to proceed with a purchase because the information was presented in a sequence that aligned with their decision-making needs.
The study suggests that retailers, marketers, and content creators should carefully consider when video reviews are displayed. Text reviews appear most useful when shoppers are comparing a large number of options. In contrast, video reviews become more valuable once consumers have narrowed their choices and are deciding between a few finalists. Jawad notes that Amazon already places video reviews on product detail pages, where shoppers are further along in the buying process. Other e-commerce platforms may benefit from adopting a similar strategy. By prioritising video reviews in late-stage shopping, businesses may help consumers make more confident decisions and ultimately increase sales.
More information: Muhammad Jawad et al, Why video reviews are not always better: The role of format–stage fit in online decision-making, Decision Support Systems. DOI: 10.1016/j.dss.2026.114634
Journal information: Decision Support Systems Provided by University of Texas at Austin