Online customer reviews are profitable for retailers and help build a sense of community for online shoppers, 82% of whom consider such reviews better than researching a product in-store with a sales associate, according to Power Reviews. Over 50% of consumers surveyed said they spend 10 or more minutes reading reviews before making a final decision on a purchase. Some 98% of surveyed shoppers said they read reviews on retailers’ websites prior to making a product purchase, ranging from “once in a while” (9%) to “most of the time” (43%). Moreover, some seek out independent review sites (34% say they do) and read reviews on Amazon (26%).