Trust in the Digital Marketplace: The Strategic Impact of Online Reviews on Brand Image and Buying Behaviour

Abstract

This paper examines how online reviews play a strategic role in building trust, brand image, and buying behaviour in online stores using the Kaggle data set (Women E-Commerce Clothing Reviews, n=23,000 rows) and a primary mixed-method survey (n=210 shoppers). It is based on Source Credibility Theory and Elaboration Likelihood Model, synthesizing 25+ studies and offering new empirical data based on real e-commerce data,  78% of 5-star reviews link to purchase recommendations (χ² p<0.001) versus 12% for 1-star ratings, positive feedback count mediates the effects of rating to recommendation (p<0.01) Quantitative analyses demonstrate that there are strong correlations: review ratings are predictive of recommendations (r=0.72), and sentiment scores on the Review Text increase model accuracy (logistic AUC=0.85); younger reviewers (Age<35) indicate 15% more trust in high-volume reviews (moderator p<0.05).  Qualitative thematic coding of 500 stratified texts uncovers key trust cues—"authenticity" in detailed narratives (32% prevalence) and "fit/quality" risks eroding brand image (28% negative themes) triangulated with survey data where 85% of respondents confirmed high ratings signal trustworthiness. Findings highlight reviews as pivotal trust proxies amid information asymmetry, particularly in apparel's high-involvement context, where verified reviews elevate repeat purchase proxies by 30-40% industry benchmarks. The negative valence amplification (2x deterrence effect) is a threat to brands, whereas the response strategies are an opportunity. Weaknesses include the specificity of the data to clothing and the self-selection bias; future research needs to incorporate cross-category longitudinal studies, as well as AI-indexed review control. In this way, the practical recommendations that the apparel marketers are offered in this paper, including the encouragement of detailed and photo-related feedback, and contribute to the current research on e-commerce by validating the role of reviews as a point of focal contact of digital trust systems by scaling the validation of secondary data and primary validation.