consumer psychologists, as well as
influencer agencies tied to the
product-review industrial complex
confirm the fears of beauty shoppers
everywhere: The word-of-mouth
recommendations we rely on when
filling our vanities aren’t always
trustworthy. “We were told, ‘Okay,
everyone’s tried the new product; go
write a review on our website,’” says
Sally Smith*, an employee at another
skin-care start-up. The behavior isn’t
surprising considering the stakes: The
global cosmetics industry is expected
to be worth about $800 billion by
- And recent data shows that 77
percent of online shoppers read
product reviews for more than half the
products they purchase. Besides
having had a positive experience with
the product themselves, seeing a
large number of positive reviews
makes digital shoppers trust a brand.
A lot of money is on the line. And
brands aren’t willing to leave it all
to chance.
That dovetails with a beauty-
consuming public more eager than
ever for insights about skin care, hair
care, and makeup. “In [this] space,
people are hungry—starving, in fact—
for information,” says Kit Yarrow, a
consumer psychologist and professor
at Golden Gate University. “They
understand that there is constant
innovation in beauty [and] that also
means constant learning.” Personal
recommendations are a way for
the masses to keep up with it all.Reviews move product. Period.
“They’re heuristics—mental shortcuts
that allow us to simplify choices—that
help in making purchase decisions.
That’s why we like and use them,” says
Peter Noel Murray, a New York City–
based consumer psychologist. “But
especially in beauty and skin care,
it isn’t about functionality. It is about
experience. What emotional end-
benefits does it provide to me?”
How exactly can that be qualified
online? It can’t, really. But it can be
quantified.
“You want to always have a 4.5 star
rating,” says Justin Jackson*, who has
handled reviews for multiple start-ups’
websites, including a skin-care and
cosmetics company known for its
millennial-cool branding. Jackson, as
well as many others interviewed
for this story, asked that we not use his
real name. “If you go on someone’s
website and they have 500 five-star
reviews, you’re going to be like, ‘That’s
f a k e .’” On the other hand: “If it’s
500 and it’s 4.5, you’re going to be like,and maybe for one or two people it
just didn’t work out.” That perception
doesn’t necessarily come without
some behind-the-scenes sorcery. “If
you’re managing a site, it is possible
to edit the reviews that come in, and
you can kind of...” he trails off, inviting
me to finish his thought.
In the star-rating realm, though,
the floor is scarily close to the ceiling:
“Anything below a 3.5 and your
product is done,” says Kevin James
Bennett, a consultant who has worked
with multiple brands that sold their
wares through Sephora. “The
perception is 3.5 is a full star and a half
below a 5. People are not happy. I
mean, be honest—when you look at
something and it has a 3.5, you keep
looking. Boomers are said to have
a five-second attention span when we
get to a website. Millennials have
four seconds; Gen Z has three. If you
don’t make a good impression in
three seconds, they’re gone.”
Sales aren’t all a brand stands to
lose: “If you fall below 3.5, your
product pretty much falls into the
danger zone,” Smith says. More
specifically, says an independent
beauty consultant who agreed
to share details anonymously, the
danger of possibly being RTV’d:
returned to vendor. “They don’t play,”
he says. “This is what destroys
companies. If [a product] doesn’t
sell, they have the right to return*Names have been changed.