Emotional Differences in Product and Service Reviews: A Sentiment and Emotion Analysis

This study investigates the emotional and sentiment differences in customer reviews of products and services on e-commerce platforms. Unlike prior research that treats customer reviews as a single entity, this study distinguishes between products, which fulfil fundamental needs, and services, which cater to higher-level experiential desires. The analysis reveals that customer sentiment and emotional expressions vary significantly between these two categories, reflecting their distinct roles in consumer decision-making. One of the key findings is that products tend to receive reviews centred around functionality, reliability, and value for money, often characterized by a more neutral or pragmatic tone. In contrast, services evoke stronger emotional responses, as they involve direct interactions, subjective experiences, and personal satisfaction. Customers express a wider range of emotions, including joy, frustration, and disappointment, when reviewing services compared to products as detected by recently developed machine learning techniques. Cultural differences further amplify these distinctions. Consumers from collectivist cultures, as identified by Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, tend to emphasize group consensus and social harmony in their reviews, often using more moderated language. Meanwhile, those from individualist cultures are more likely to provide direct and emotionally intense feedback. Interestingly, gender does not significantly influence sentiment differences, suggesting that product and service categorization and cultural background are the primary drivers of variation in reviews. Theoretically, this study extends Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Hofstede’s cultural framework by applying them to consumer reviews, offering a conceptual model of how these factors shape customer experiences. From a practical perspective, businesses can leverage these insights to refine their marketing and customer engagement strategies, tailoring their communication and service approaches to align with customer expectations based on product and service offerings and cultural context.