If every review had to show proof, would customers write fewer reviews?

Right now, leaving a review takes seconds, and that is part of why there are so many of them — and part of why so many are hard to trust.

If every review had to show proof first — a receipt, an order, something that shows the person actually bought what they are reviewing — would fewer people bother? Probably, at least at first. It adds a step, and some happy customers just will not go through it.

But would that be a bad trade? A business with 20 reviews you can check might tell a customer more than 200 you cannot. And a reviewer who knows their purchase is visible might write something more specific, because the review is tied to a real experience rather than a general opinion.

The other side is real too: small businesses already struggle to get reviews, and anything that makes it harder could leave good businesses looking quiet, especially when a competitor has hundreds of unverified ones.

So where is the balance? Should proof be required for every review, or only for the ones a business wants to highlight? And if volume drops, does trust make up for it?

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