Amazon Launches New Twist on Product Reviews

Amazon.com pioneered product reviews, wisely betting they would help its shoppers feel more comfortable buying goods online, sight unseen. Last year, it introduced a new twist on product reviews called "Ask an Owner." However, Amazon wasn't the first company to figure out that connecting would-be buyers with those who owned a product could help improve the buying experience and likely boost sales. TurnTo launched Active Outreach, which it calls "Social Q&A," four years ago. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos highlighted the Ask an Owner feature in a letter to shareholders last week.