Federal Trade Commission

01/25/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/26/2022 00:35

Online retailer, Fashion Nova, gets a dressing down for hiding negative reviews

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January 25, 2022
by
Colleen Tressler
Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC

Shopping for clothes online can be fun and convenient, but it lacks the in-person experience of trying them on, touching the fabrics, and checking for quality. That's why so many online shoppers turn to honest customer reviews for help. But when an online retailer cherry picks only the positive reviews for posting, the result is anything but honest.

If a company suggests that the reviews on its website reflect the views of all buyers who submitted reviews, it's against the law for the company to NOT post negative reviews. According to the FTC, online retailer Fashion Nova did just that. The FTC says that Fashion Nova broke the law when it failed to post hundreds of thousands of negative reviews that people submitted.

What does this mean for you and other online fashionistas? Well, for one thing, Fashion Nova must not make any further misrepresentations about customer reviews or other endorsements.

Here are some things to consider the next time you're using online reviews to buy clothing -or anything else:

  • Think about the source of the reviews you're reading. What do you know about the reviewers -or the site they've posted on -that makes them trustworthy?
  • Compare reviews from a variety of well-known sources, not just the seller's site.
  • Start with websites recognized for having credible and impartial expert reviews.

For more information, see Online Shopping and How To Evaluate Online Reviews.

Blog Topics:
Money & Credit
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Comments

Thank you | January 25, 2022
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  • reply

You are so right I check different web site to find honest reviews but most of the time I shop in stores

Penguin| January 25, 2022
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I, like so many others, am trying to buy American-made products. I saw an advertisement on Facebook for some clothes that the seller claimed were made and shipped from the USA. I purchased some clothes based on that statement, they come in, and I find no tags of any sort stating they're made in the USA. I find no tags indicating where these clothes come from or care instructions. I posted a review stating this and also that the clothes I got did not have the vibrant colors as advertised. I did not find my comment on their website and am assuming it was deleted.

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