ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF ONLINE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ON GENERATION Z'S PURCHASE DECISIONS FOR ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS WITHIN E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS

Generation Z represents a high level of consumption for technological items. This paper considers howonline user reviews impact the purchase decisions of Albanian Generation Z consumers in e-commercewebsites. To study this relationship, the research concentrated on the effects of customer feedback onthe purchase of electronic products by Albanian Generation Z using e-commerce channels. The purposeswere twofold of this study: to understand the way Gen Z consumers rely on online feedback beforemaking a purchase, and to identify the influence of some components of reviews for Albanian Gen Z’sconsumer shopping behavior including star rating, source reliability, linguistic tone, length, andsentiment polarity. A quantitative study design was used, and a structured survey was distributed online.Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analyses were then conducted on thegathered data to identify the factors that are relevant for Albanian Generation Z when checking onlinecomments. According to the research, Albanian Generation Z, especially in the electronics industry,heavily relies on customer reviews while making purchasing decisions. Moreover, as it is shown in thefindings that specific review attributes such as format, whether numerical or narrative, length, tone andperceived credibility, matter in making purchasing decisions. Stars and ratings are great, but thecredibility and tone of written narratives are more important. Important point is that consumer’sinclination to product functionality and quality have also made them very sensitive to negative reviews,which are often the first deciding factor whether to purchase or not. Moreover, their high level oftechnological literacy allows Albanian Generation Z members to complete detailed cross-validation ofthe information by searching through multiple online channels until making a decision to buy a product.For these reasons, e-commerce should recognize honest yet comprehensive user comments and providestrong verification systems for fake reviews, as Albanian Gen Z, with its high digital literacy levels, isparticularly attuned to inauthentic content. The research has implications to practice digital marketingtactics aiming at this tech savvy generation. This study implies that Managing Online ReputationManagement is not a choice for electronic retailers but a strategy for success. Keywords: Generation Z, E-commerce, Customer Reviews, Purchase, Electronic Products, SocialProof, Consumer Behavior.