4.17 stars may seem awfully high. But there’s a felicitous reason why in product reviews — as in Lake Wobegon — everything is above average. Lots of high ratings = lots of reviews = lots of happy customers. You see, most reviews come from verified buyers, which are customers who purchased the product and were asked to write a review.  This authentication process validates the reviews, and it also nudges the ratings higher. That’s because products with high sales have a larger base to solicit for reviews, and consequently, a larger sample size to determine average ratings.

The average rating also differs across categories. Take a look at the the category breakdown drawn from the last two years (above). Unsurprisingly, how people feel about the products they buy is related to what’s going on in the rest of their lives. Baby products, for example, have a lower average rating across the category since parents purchasing products for their newborn tend to be more critical. In a future post, we’ll take a more in-depth look at the data. But for now, we’ll leave you to bask in the glow of your 4-star ratings.

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