Josh Porter (a social design expert and author of the blog Bokardo) told an interesting story about Amazon. He was doing some user testing for a competing e-commerce site, and the tester he was interviewing asked if they could go to Amazon.
"Sure. Is it to compare the prices?" he asked.
"No," replied the tester. "It's so I can check the customer reviews."
I'm impressed by the extent to which Amazon has cultivated trust. They tell you what customers like you think about virtually every product on their site; they help you find products you might like more than the one you're browsing; they give you the chance to buy a cheaper used version of the product from a third-party. And so on.
Throw in their speed, low prices, and reliability, and it's no wonder they've captured such a strong slice of the e-commerce market.
"Sure. Is it to compare the prices?" he asked.
"No," replied the tester. "It's so I can check the customer reviews."
I'm impressed by the extent to which Amazon has cultivated trust. They tell you what customers like you think about virtually every product on their site; they help you find products you might like more than the one you're browsing; they give you the chance to buy a cheaper used version of the product from a third-party. And so on.
Throw in their speed, low prices, and reliability, and it's no wonder they've captured such a strong slice of the e-commerce market.