Amazon is reportedly testing a confusing star rating system

engadget.com

2 pointsilamont3 comments

The visual aspect is a bit annoying, but in an era of insane reputation inflation, I think 5 star % makes more sense than average rating.

I just have no idea how to interpret that percentage. What does it really mean? What % of 5 star ratings count as "this product is good"?

I don't see how this is an improvement of anything whatsoever in a world where the ratings (however they're presented) are not reliable in the first place. It seems worse, because it hides a lot of pertinent information.

But I don't know. I haven't actually experienced it.

Here's an example: https://www.reddit.com/r/amazonprime/comments/15t95lp/what_i....

You can see there's a light bulb showing an average 4.6 rating, with 78% reviews being 5-stars.

IMO, the confusing part remains the amount of fake/fraudulent reviews. What does it matter that there are 78% 5-star reviews when all the 5-star reviews are fake? Further, how can I trust that the product itself is not fake? What assurances do I have as a consumer when shopping at Amazon?

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