How much water is there in internet celebrity exploration stores?, The two reviews of visiting stores are completely opposite and related | business | visiting stores
As online "grass planting" becomes a consumption norm, the related store exploration business is also flourishing. Half month talk reporters found through investigation that the current store exploration industry lacks industry norms, there are no standards for personnel access and institutional qualifications, and there are false "grass planting" and other situations.
Plant grass first, then consume
"A full table costs 199 yuan" and "a steak table costs 99 yuan"... Just click on a short video app and you'll find a wide variety of food packages recommended by internet celebrities and influencers, making it overwhelming. Nowadays, it has become a consumption habit for some people to "plant grass" online before dining out, and internet celebrity bloggers share the environment, products, and services of their stores from a first perspective, which can easily leave a real impression on people.
Exploring stores by internet celebrities seems to bring a win-win situation: consumers receive low-priced packages, internet celebrities continue to leverage their traffic advantages to monetize content, merchants gain customer traffic, and the platform expands its business with a new version of the map. The high visibility of store exploration content on social media not only cultivates new consumption habits, but also changes the marketing methods of businesses.
According to public media survey data, 82.6% of respondents would search for relevant "grass planting" recommendations before shopping, but 78.2% of respondents have also experienced being tricked by online "grass planting". Half Month Talk reporters learned that in recent times, consumer disputes caused by internet celebrities exploring stores have been on the rise, and market regulatory authorities in many regions have issued relevant consumer dispute cases to warn responsible parties.
Giving money is really delicious, not giving it "can't eat"?
According to interviews and research conducted by Banyuetan reporters, many consumers have reported experiencing chaos such as online group buying being unable to be verified and lacking refund channels. Under the influence of traffic and commercial profits, online celebrity shops are mixed up, and the phenomenon of "filter shop" has been repeatedly roast.
Half Month Talk reporter learned that a self-service hot pot restaurant in Shanghai has been recommended as "high-end self-service" by multiple store exploration bloggers on short video platforms, with a dining price of up to 798 yuan per person. The market supervision department's investigation found that its so-called "high-end ingredients" were replaced by frozen products, and many netizens who went to taste them believed that there was a significant gap between product service and promotion, and that the value of the goods did not match the price.
On the Black Cat Complaint Platform, Half Moon Talk reporters searched for "exploring store group buying" and received over a thousand related complaints. In complaint cases, issues such as the inability to use and refund group buying products are more common, and there are even cases of store closures and group buying vouchers being resold.
The mixed online celebrity exploration shop not only makes consumers feel "watery", but also makes some merchants complain incessantly. Some interviewed restaurants have stated that some self media accounts operated by internet celebrities require merchants to waive their orders under the pretext of "promoting and promoting merchants". The reporter of the half month talk noticed that some online red accounts published the evaluation in the same store, which was inconsistent. For example, for the same Zhajiangmian, some bloggers said at first that it was "too expensive" and "can't eat". Later, in the video, they changed their words to "the taste of mom's cooking", which surprised people.
Exploring Store Business Urgently Needs Standardization
The chaos of internet celebrities exploring stores has attracted attention. The interviewed experts believe that store exploration business should be encouraged and regulated. "Internet celebrities exploring stores has a certain advertising endorsement nature. If there are problems with the endorsed products, Internet celebrities also have to bear certain legal consequences. Therefore, Internet celebrities and their companies should bear the obligation of prior review." Lawyer Xu Hao from Jingshi Law Firm said that if Internet celebrity bloggers continue to publish false promotional content online without knowledge, such behavior harms the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and should also bear corresponding legal responsibilities.
From May 1 this year, the new version of Internet Advertising Management Measures was officially implemented. The method stipulates that if products or services are promoted through knowledge introduction, experience sharing, consumption evaluation and other forms, and purchase methods such as shopping links are attached, the advertiser shall prominently indicate "advertisement". Recently, the market supervision department of Huangshi City, Hubei Province, ordered a certain influencer to correct the behavior of not indicating "advertising" in the promotion of short videos by exploring stores, and imposed an administrative penalty of 10000 yuan. It is understood that this is the first case in China where influencers have been punished for violating laws and regulations while visiting stores.
Recently, some short video platforms have released the "Guidelines for Exploring Food and Beverage Stores" and launched a special campaign to crack down on false advertising, clarifying the industry norms and rights and responsibilities that merchants and internet influencers should abide by, with a focus on cracking down on illegal behaviors such as false store visits, ghostwriting and distribution. Professor Liu Junhai from the School of Law at Renmin University of China stated that various short videos and media platforms have the obligation to review and appeal feedback mechanisms for store exploration videos that appear on their platforms; At the same time, regulatory authorities should facilitate channels for complaints and reports, introduce social supervision forces, and jointly regulate store exploration behavior.
