The Internet has provided a competitive platform for online marketing, and online shopping has become an important part of daily life for consumers who view online reviews as an effective channel of acquiring product information before making purchase decisions. Based on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM; Petty & Cacioppo, 1981, 1986), in the present study the effects of online reviews on purchasing intention are explored using need for cognition as a moderator. Findings that emerge from the results are: Firstly, when online reviews are high quality this has a positive effect on the purchasing intention of online shoppers. Secondly, when there are a high number of online reviews this positively affects the purchasing intention of online shoppers. Finally, shoppers with a high need for cognition take the central route in attitude change, but shoppers with a low need for cognition tend to adopt the peripheral route in forming attitude. Marketing implications are suggested.
