Surefire strategy for savvier online shopping

While comparing ice-cream makers, be sure to read customer reviews on a variety of websites. It can help you make a better decision, say researchers at the University of Florida. They analyzed reviews for vacuums, toasters and digital cameras and found that the item’s first review shaped subsequent reviews and the product’s overall rating for up to three years, creating a positive or negative domino effect depending on the tone of the first reviews. The researchers say checking out a mix of sites can help you arrive at a more balanced sense of how the product performs.