by Maryam Touheed
“Hold on! Let me check the reviews first” is the first line that Gen Z thinks of before making their shopping decisions. As a Gen Z, you already have experience of the former or being parent of a Gen Z, this would be your daily sight; watching your boy or girl wondering and searching reviews and ratings online for each buy. Besides the category, our youth checks online reviews and ratings of the desired product. Gone are the days, when people were used to being influenced by TV commercials or public banners directly. Now the trend has begun to inquire about the product online whether it’s skincare, makeup, clothing, food & restaurant, a smartphone, or kitchenware. This is because our youth is too fond of social media considering it the problem solver. The cherry on the cake is social media has proved itself a problem solver too, providing online reviews and ratings, feedback, and opinions from consumers and influencers leading towards the rise and failure of product sales. With billions of users on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, social media has become Gen Z’s go-to marketplace, shaping their preferences, trust, and buying habits like never before. Keeping in mind the importance and obsession of reviews and ratings in the minds of young ones, Let’s dive into the online world of online word-of-mouth and its impact on our youth buying decisions.
Numbers don’t lie. According to Smart Insights (Feb, 2025), more than half of the world is using social media now which is around (62.6%) in the percentage and around 5.07 billion in the number. However, when it comes to Gen Z, Pew Research Center (2024), says 93% of the users are between the age category of 18 to 29, which is consistent with the fact that we have a large number of young audiences online. Now the question arises whether this young generation relies on online reviews or not. Whether they have a habit of checking the online reviews or not? According to Statista (Feb, 2025), consumers aged 18 to 24 are habitual in checking online reviews before buying a product, and most interestingly, their survey says that these consumers want more than 200 reviews for a product before making a buying decision in the U.S. These statistics enhances the significance of online reviews in the marketing and shopping world. Although Gen Z actively seeks opinions online, not all reviews hold the same power. Whether it comes from viral product trends, influencers, or customer reviews, some forms of digital word-of-mouth are more powerful than others. What types of reviews, then, have the biggest impact on their purchasing decisions? Let’s break it down.
Types of reviews matter in having a powerful impact on consumers. There are various types of reviews which are: text, video, photos, infographics, ratings, star feedback, descriptions, captions and comments, etc. Although some of the types are in text form still there are some of have a huge impact like comments and photo reviews— which are the most reliable for consumers. In this regard, I surveyed youth aged 16 to 29 to explore their choices and preferences in terms of online reviews. Most of the respondents around 61% answered that they prefer video reviews before buying anything while 60% gave their vote in support of photo reviews and 58% said they would love to check comments reviews to know about a product before purchasing. The findings explain that potential consumers need visuals of the product more than other reviews after the visuals consumers will go for the comments generated by the other consumers who have experienced the product. My research on the impact of electronic word of mouth on youth and their buying behavior did not confine till the preference to categories of reviews but to the selection and credibility of the reviews also. Let me explain it more.
The credibility of the reviews can be achieved if the source becomes credible to the consumers. In this era of social media, consumers especially our youth cross check the reviews and even check the credibility of the review source by checking the social account, website, or page altogether. As I mentioned earlier, our young customers want more than 200 reviews about a product before making a purchase which proves that today’s buyer is not easy prey to capture. You have to build credibility and trust in the minds of the consumer. Focusing on this point, I asked the youngsters whether they trust the content shared by the seller more or the content shared by the consumers for the acknowledgment of the product. The majority of 68% said that they would prefer the content shared by consumers more than the sellers’. On the other side, consumers assume that if a social media account gives them useful information regarding a product, keeping them safe from wastage of money and worst experience. They will consider that source credible and if that account or social media page recommends other products too in the future, the buyer will give a chance to the product. This is how the credibility of a source works for a business. This is a reason that businesses hire credible influencers to promote their products to benefit from the influencers’ credibility.
Moreover, the respondents 68% chose no. of comments on the review source as the credibility criteria for checking the reviews of a product. Because number of comments on a platform shows how consumers consider a platform and if it is a fake source then it will not have a lot of genuine comments on the account. The platform can have a mix of opinions; some would like the product, some would be telling the opposite experience about the platform and their product and it is a possibility too that some would be saying that their first experience with the product was not good but their second experience was awesome so all the consumers’ opinion will make up the mind of others which will benefit as well as harm the business but it will increase the credibility of the source.
For Gen Z, shopping isn’t just about buying—it’s about researching, reviewing, and making informed choices based on real experiences shared online. Businesses have to work hard on getting positive reviews for them to appeal the potential and intelligent buyers. Additionally, the choice of the platform plus the type of review can do the miracles too. Whether it’s a viral TikTok trend, a brutally honest YouTube review, or a five-star rating on an e-commerce site, digital word-of-mouth has redefined trust in the modern marketplace. As brands race to win over this review-obsessed generation, one thing is clear: in the world of Gen Z shopping, credibility isn’t built through ads—it’s earned through authentic voices. So, next time you spot a trending product, ask yourself: is it really worth it, or is it just another hype? Let the reviews decide.
Author: Student, Completed M. Phil I Mass Communication/Master of Philosophy program in University of Sargodha, Pakistan.
