Have any big Black Friday purchases coming up? You might want to do a little more than read the reviews.

Answer: Up to 42%

Questions:

• How much do you rely on online reviews before purchasing an item? 
• Have you ever noticed a fake review while shopping online? What made you think it was fake?
• Do you think that online reviews impact whether people purchase an item or not? Explain. 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (CT Insider):

"An analysis by the fraudulent-review-detection service Fakespot of 720 million Amazon reviews in 2020 found that about 42 percent were bogus. The company uses artificial intelligence technology to analyzes billions of consumer reviews to detect fraudulent product reviews and third-party sellers in real-time. Some of the fake reviews are generated by bots in order to influence a product rating and in other cases third-party sellers on the site have been inflating their reviews by sending cash or a free gift in exchange for positive reviews."

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Check out NGPF's Consumer Skills unit to arm your students with the know-how to be savvy consumers!

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Get students out of their seat and recognizing when they're being manipulated with MOVE: Identifying Dark Patterns!

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan is the Partnerships and Adoption Manager for Next Gen Personal Finance’s midwest region. He brings his experience as a former teacher, curriculum designer, and sales and marketing professional to state organizations and school districts in supporting the implementation of their personal financial education efforts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and earned his teaching credential from Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. He proudly taught at two rural high schools in Wisconsin before transitioning to curriculum design at NGPF, and is now excited to be on the front lines in delivering the best possible financial education in the midwest. He and his wife have three beautiful daughters, each of which inspire him to share the impact of being sound financial stewards both at home and as lifelong learners.