Perfect 5-star ratings sell best
Misquoted Confidence: medium
Primary source found, but the way it is quoted changes the subject, metric, population or precision.
- Commonly cited as
- "You need a 5.0 rating to convert"
- True origin
- Medill Spiegel Research Center, Northwestern University — How Online Reviews Influence Sales (first published 2017)
- Type
- Stat check: A widely repeated statistic traced back to its origin.
- Year
- 2017
- Data as of
- Findings first published 2017
- Last checked
- What the source says
Across product categories, we found that purchase likelihood typically peaks at ratings in the 4.0 – 4.7 range, and then begins to decrease as ratings approach 5.0.
- Method & sample
- Academic research center analysis of retailer review data.
- Drift between quote and source
- Direction: research found purchase likelihood falls as ratings approach 5.0
- Interest
- Academic center; works with industry research partners.
Safe rephrasing
Spiegel Research Center found purchase likelihood typically peaks at average ratings of 4.0–4.7 and declines as ratings approach a perfect 5.0.
Sources we opened
Machine-readable: /api/claims/perfect-5-star-ratings-sell-best.json · Last checked 2026-10-16