  Increasing online shoppers have generated enormous amount of data in form of
reviews (text) and sales data. Aggregate reviews in form of rating (stars) have
become noticeable indicators of product quality and vendor performance to
prospective consumers at first sight. Consumers subjected to product discount
deadlines search for ways in which they could evaluate product and vendor
service using a comprehensible benchmark. Considering the effect of time
pressure on consumers, aggregate reviews, known as review valence, become a
viable indicator of product quality. This study investigates how purchase
decisions for new products are affected by past customer aggregate ratings when
a soon-to-expire discount is being offered. We examine the role that a
consumer's attitude towards review valence (RV) plays as an antecedent to that
consumer's reliance on RV in a purchase decision for time-discounted search
goods. Considering review credibility, diagnosticity, and effectiveness as
determinants of consumer attitude in a time-constrained search and purchase
environment, we follow the approach-avoidance conflict theory to examine the
role of review valence and perceived uncertainty in a time-constrained
environment. The data was collected through an online survey and analyzed using
structural equation modelling. This study provides significant implications for
practitioners as they can better understand how review valence can influence a
purchase decision. Empirical analysis includes two contributions: 1. It helps
to understand how consumer attitude toward review valence, when positively
influenced by the determinants, can lead to reliance on review valence, further
influencing purchase decision; 2. Time constrained purchase-related perceived
uncertainty negatively moderates the relationship between consumer attitude and
reliance on review valence.
