Panagiotis Stamolampros quoted in The New York Times

On 22 October, Panagiotis Stamolampros, a Lecturer in Business Analytics and member of the Centre for Decision Research at the Leeds University Business School, was quoted in The New York Times.

The article entitled “Sunday Riley Settles Complaint That It Faked Product Reviews” delivered the news of the Federal Trade Commission's recent settlement of a complaint against a popular skincare brand, Sunday Riley. The settlement determined the company should cease posting any further fake reviews of its products online.

Dr Stamolampros provided insight into the damage caused by fake online reviews and considered how these can distort markets.

He had previously investigated the impact of several unexplored behavioural and cultural biases and their effect on consumers’ perceptions. He was quoted as saying how “online reviews definitely affect the customers”. He continued: 

If there are fake reviews, someone can distort the market, and a lot of these companies, their success is very much based on this mechanism of reviews. You need to rely on other people online.

You can read Dr Stamolampros comments, along with the full article, on The New York Times website.