Abstract: Considering a system consisting of a manufacturer and an e-commerce platform, two game models are established and the impact of online reviews on system equilibrium and consumer behavior is analyzed. The results of this paper show that, the optimal pricing strategy of e-commerce platform is influenced by online reviews. E-commerce platform will only implement a low-price strategy when the competition between direct channel and self-operated channel is sufficiently intense, or when the level of channel competition is relatively low but the effectiveness of online reviews is also sufficiently low. Online reviews facilitate the redistribution of profits between manufacturer and e-commerce platform, and when the level of channel competition is moderate, online review is beneficial to e-commerce platform, while their impact on manufacturer remains uncertain. In addition, the presence of online reviews influences consumers' choice of purchase channels, especially as some consumers abandon direct channels and opt to purchase products through self-operated channel. However, when the effectiveness of online reviews satisfies certain conditions, consumers may decide against purchasing the product based on those reviews, leading to a reduction in product demand. Finally, this paper extends the original model to further examine the issue of competition among e-commerce channels.

Key words: e-commerce platform, online reviews, channel choices, pricing