Fake reviews have made online shopping a nightmare. Can Reddit help?

These days, online shopping can feel a bit like avoiding banana peels in a game of Mario Kart. Where a simple Google search may have once been enough to find the perfect T-shirt, moisturiser or backpack, now, you’ve got to wade through a lot of slop to find a fit.

Google has become flooded with paid ads and suggestions for websites that have been maximised for their search engine ranking (SEO). Product reviews, which are increasingly common, aren’t always genuine. In December last year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) reviewed 130 online businesses and found that more than one-third of reviews (including those on company websites and from third-party review sites) were misleading.

As trust in search engines such as Google and brands themselves slowly erodes, consumers are turning to online communities, such as Reddit, for what they perceive to be more straightforward, reputable advice.

These communities are bursting with advice from savvy shoppers.

Credit: Stephen Kiprillis

How did we get here?

Dr Adrian Camilleri, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Technology, says that Google is still the primary search engine in Australia. But he says consumers are becoming increasingly wary of the prevalence of paid ads and fraudulent reviews, while cultural and technological shifts over the past decade have fostered the rise of social media and influencer marketing.

“More and more, consumers – especially those who are younger – are learning about brands and offerings through platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest, as well as their favourite influencers on these platforms,” he says.

Zach Edwards, a cultural strategist at Keep Left agency, says that consumers today are smarter, in turn making it harder for brands to break through.

“People are getting a bit more guarded,” he says.

A new Netflix documentary, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, sheds a light on the methods used by companies such as Apple and Amazon to manipulate consumers into buying more.

And earlier this year, Archrival and Tumblr released a report on the changing digital landscape. In it, 72 per cent of Gen Zs surveyed said they found peer recommendations more influential than traditional marketing.

Why communities like Reddit are thriving

Reddit, an online message board founded in 2005, is fast becoming a rival to Google in shaping our purchasing decisions. It has seen a huge amount of growth this year, almost quadrupling its traffic in the six months to March 2024. As of November, it was the third-most visited website in Australia. Interestingly, Google and Reddit have a partnership in which Google search privileges results from Reddit.

Edwards attributes part of this growth to our changing search habits.

“People are doing their traditional Google search and then adding ‘Reddit’ to the end of it,” he says. One might search “best hiking boots Reddit” or “best cotton T-shirts Reddit”, for example.

Its many niche communities, called subreddits, are also popular destinations for inquisitive shoppers. AusFemaleFashion, for example, has more than 132,000 members and is rife with questions such as “what is the best work bag?” and “best clothes for summer?”

Camilleri thinks this specificity – with communities dedicated to everything from trampolines to home fermentation – are behind its popularity.

“Consumers can find tailored and niche advice and recommendations in specialised subreddits with people who have a strong interest in that particular topic,” he says.

Reddit has a lo-fi, unpolished appearance – its interface hasn’t changed much since 2005 – and users remain anonymous. This, alongside the fact users are “upvoted” or “downvoted” (rated) based on the reliability of their responses, is perhaps behind Reddit’s air of trustworthiness, says Edwards.

Before 2020, Camilleri says, his research suggested consumers were less likely to see Reddit as a trustworthy source compared with Google. But he thinks “this difference is shrinking and may even reverse among some consumer groups”.

“Reddit is seen as a more authentic source of information where there are real people – not bots – giving their unfiltered opinions,” he says.

Facebook and its many online groups function similarly, with users crowdfunding peer recommendations for specific items. Meanwhile, TikTok is starting to be used as a search engine – particularly among young people. A 2024 report from Adobe found more than two in five Americans use TikTok for search.

Where to from here?

Both Camilleri and Edwards say that technological advancements – particularly artificial intelligence – will be integral in reshaping the consumer landscape.

Already, Google is using AI to streamline its results. Last week, Reddit introduced its own Google-like AI function.

But Edwards says there is still a way to go when it comes to AI and trustworthiness.

He thinks the biggest thing brands need to do to stay relevant is focus on community and word of mouth. Brands that focus on bringing people together – for instance, a fitness brand sponsoring a running club – will be successful.

“Once you start building community, then word of mouth is going to spread. That’s going to spread back into the online space in places like Reddit and TikTok.”

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