Product Ranking and Purchase Decisions

We all have seen “top-rated products” or a similar style of promotion on the numerous e-commerce websites. But does have a product with that attribution and proper placement have an effect on purchasing? A study published in the journal Marketing Science, Raluca Ursu from the Stern School of Business looked into the influences of product position in a website ranking. Ursu found that high product rankings had an effect on search patterns of consumers. However, the product ranking had little or secondary effect on the actual purchase decision of consumers. The data can be beneficial to intermediary sites (i.e. Amazon) to better optimize the search process, which will greatly reduce the costs for consumers searching for products.