Quality in Context: Experience-Relevant Consumption Context Influences Product Ratings

Experience with a product is shaped by two things: (1) aspects of the product itself and (2) aspects of the environment in which the product is consumed. This article documents evidence that when consumers translate their experiences into ratings of products, they overattribute their experience to products and underattribute experience to context (the environment in which the product is consumed). First, 218,918 ratings collected from REI demonstrate that ratings for cold-weather gear (products designed to keep people warm) are positively correlated with temperature: These products get lower ratings when the weather is cold and higher ratings when the weather is warm, controlling for climate and season. Ratings for other products (e.g., bicycles, tents, and skis) are not affected by temperature. This effect generalizes to other products and contexts both in the REI data (e.g., rain jackets and rain) and in a laboratory experiment. The article also identifies attenuating conditions for this effect. Specifically, the effect seems to be smaller when reviewers explicitly consider context, and when context information is made more accessible, while rating. These findings inform several possible interventions for platforms, which are assessed and validated.