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Fashion Nova has exploded in popularity in recent years, with a heavy emphasis on social media and influencer marketing to drive business. Its notable celebrity endorsers included rapper Cardi B.
But the online retailer is required to pay $4.2 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission case that alleges the company suppressed negative reviews of its products from being posted on its website.
Separately, the FTC said it has warned 10 companies offering online review management systems not to improperly block negative reviews. Read on to learn more about this controversy.
What was the complaint?
Fashion Nova has been accused by the FTC of using a third-party review management app that blocked customer reviews below “four stars” from posting on its website. Meanwhile, four- and five-star reviews were automatically published.
The company allegedly withheld lower reviews from 2015 through 2019 using a third-party management system. The FTC said its complaint against the fashion giant was its first case challenging a company’s failure to post negative reviews as a deceptive practice.
The FTC said in a release:
“They misrepresented that the reviews on its website accurately reflected the views of all purchasers who submitted reviews to the website. The proposed settlement puts provisions in place to address Fashion Nova’s deceptive practice and orders Fashion Nova to pay $4.2 million for harm consumers incurred.”
Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said:
“Deceptive review practices cheat consumers, undercut honest businesses, and pollute online commerce, the company is being held accountable for these practices, and other firms should take note.”
What was Fashion Nova's reaction to these claims?
As part of the settlement, the FTC said the fashion house has now agreed to publish both positive and negative customer reviews in the future. The deal also bars them from making misleading claims about its reviews.
Meanwhile, the company has pushed back on the FTC’s allegations, referring to the claims as “inaccurate and deceptive.” A representative said the company never suppressed customer reviews and that the third-party software it used “inadvertently failed” to publish lower ratings.
The fast fashion company said in a statement to The Verge:
“Our organization is highly confident that it would have won in court and only agreed to settle the case to avoid the distraction and legal fees that it would incur in litigation.”
So, do you think the fashion giant is wrong when they try to limit the customer base's voice, or do you support their arguments?
