Ratings are ubiquitous in today’s digital world. Platforms like Amazon, Yelp and Uber Eats bombard users with stars, numbers and symbols that can heavily influence consumer decision-making.

Research suggests ratings have become as crucial to purchasing decisions as factors like price, brand reputation or recommendations from family and friends, especially in terms of online shopping. Even a small increase of 0.2 in a rating can boost sales by 30 to 200 per cent.

However, not all rating formats are created equal. Consider two hotels, both rated 3.5 out of five stars. One hotel displays its rating as a visual image of three stars with a fourth partially filled, while the other just lists the numerical score “3.5.” Which one would you be more likely to choose?

My recent research study with my co-authors found that the way ratings are displayed — as stars versus numbers — can shape consumer perceptions in subtle yet predictable ways. Visual star ratings, fractional ones in particular, tend to appear more appealing to consumers than their number rating counterparts.

We conducted a series of 12 experiments involving thousands of participants. In one, participants were asked to plot fractional numbers on an unmarked line; another tested how people visually process partially filled........

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