Critics to be replaced with user reviews? - some reflections

This question was partly discussed in class but I feel it needs more reflection: eventually will critics be replaced by user reviews?

PRO

In e-commerce, user reviews have become the defining factor for recommendations and product buying decisions. The easiest example to think of is Amazon, where user reviews are a driver for product sales. Similarly, yelp and tripadvisor reviews are drivers for restaurants and hotels (experiences and services). If we see wine as both a product and an experience, then it seems like there is room for this revolution, especially in the eventuality of the disappearance of the historic critic figures (as mentioned in class).

Some reviews on both Amazon and Tripadvisor do have the “story” factor, which we have defined as being essential for a good critic. There are also a lot of low quality one sentence comments that do not add any value to the reader and dilute the good comments. Looking at Amazon Wine I did not find any good comments for now (but there are also not that many currently), except those offered by the selling company, which I believe mostly reinstate the back label of the bottle.

The top reviewers would end up being the de facto critics of the review-based wine market universe. Most websites already identify the top commenters as such and I do imagine Amazon instituting the “serial wine commenter” tag to specific reviewers. In the face of an inexpert online wine buyer, these tags are sure to gain a lot of attention.

AGAINST

Paid reviews might end up clogging the review space and deter consumers from believing in them. This already happens in the e-commerce space, but it doesn’t seem to have damaged online sales. The anonymity of the internet also does not really conform to the traditional image of the critic and would not enable the critic-reviewer to build a strong identity. It would be very difficult to visualize the person behind the pen and to believe in a Robert Parker type wine legend using only an amazon nickname.

Another problem that Alder mentioned is the fact that reviews would not be enough to convince a consumer to buy expensive bottles. Wine drinkers would expect a more trusted source. Taking inspiration from the restaurant industry, the substitutes of the critic could then be divided into 2 categories: user reviews for low priced wine and an equivalent of the Michelin guide, restricted to only certain types of wines. Could a 100 point scale be too penalizing and discriminating for certain wineries (if 1 point can shift bottle prices significantly)? Maybe reverting to a more generic 3 star scale (or a 3 glass scale as used by Italian guide Gambero Rosso) would be still useful to consumers but would not make wineries want to try so hard to get that extra point.