Online Customer Reviews and their Effect on the Download of Mobile Applications
Keywords:
Mobile Apps, Downloads, Online Reviews, Google Play Store, RatingsAbstract
This research investigated some characteristics of online reviews and their impact on the download of mobile applications. Data was collected from the Google Play store across five of the most popular app categories to provide answers to the research questions and test the hypotheses formulated for this study. A total of 12,169 reviews were provided on different apps under the top five categories, namely: education, business, music & audio, tools, and entertainment, during the study period. The results obtained from the OLS regression indicated that there is a statistically significant relationship between the length of reviews and the download of selected applications; the number of reviews provided for mobile applications and the number of downloads; the number of positive reviews and the number of downloads of the apps chosen; and lastly, the number of negative reviews and the number of downloads of the apps chosen. The overall results of the OLS-regression revealed that the adjusted R-squared value of the model is 0.712. This means that 71.2% of the variability of the dependent variable (app download) is explained by the variables considered in this study, an indication that the model is relevant to the study. Based on these findings, the study recommends that app developers incorporate features into their apps that will prompt users to provide reviews on online app marketplaces, as the number of reviews has a favorable impact on mobile app downloads.
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