Seniors first bought products at department stores located in the center of the city. In the early 1970’s, enclosed malls brought shopping to the suburbs offering a full day event with dining as well as shopping. Both of these options allowed shoppers to see and feel merchandise and talk to the sales person about which products would best suit their needs.
Now Amazon is the “go to” shopping provider for just about any and all items. Being online, it enables seniors and their families the ability to quickly buy and have delivered just about whatever they need. But they still want to make sure they are getting the product that best suits their needs and has the quality they desire. So, they often rely on reviews, ratings and stars. Online shoppers have been relying on ratings for years when they are in the market for hotel rooms, restaurants, repairs and other purchases. As Amazon grew, shoppers started to rely on their reviews and ratings. But in the world of fake information online, Amazon is fraught with reviews, ratings and stars that often have no relation to the quality or reliability of the product. On Amazon, legitimate reviews are often labeled as a “Verified Purchase” and those who post provide examples of why they like or dislike the product. People who take the time to write these reviews generally do so because they had an excellent or a poor experience.
For the most part seniors are not in the market for big ticket items such as appliances, electronics, furniture or autos. People in the market for those often use Consumer Reports, JD Power or other similar companies that review and rate products and their quality.
Seniors generally purchase smaller items – those under $200. A common item for a senior who needs some help in the home is baby monitor so that the person helping: family, friend, neighbor or caregiver can hear if the senior falls or needs help. Unfortunately, one of the 10 most common products found to have questionable reviews and ratings is a baby monitor.
According to experienced online shoppers the best ways to evaluate products are:
- Completely read the information provided
- Read the questions and answers as they provide specific information about the product both good and bad
- Read the comments by those who posted a 1-star rating and see if their experience with the product is meaningful to you for your loved-one
- Take extra time to look at a review rating site such as ReviewMeta
Our seniors need to have high quality products as their lives may be dependent on them. Whoever helps with purchases needs to look beyond the number of stars.
