• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 14, 2014

Euro-Pro's ads for the Shark vacuum cleaner shouldn't boast it's the “most recommended,” when that claim stems from the company's interpretation of online reviews, according to a panel of the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Review Board.

The panel's opinion, released on Tuesday, upheld a decision issued in June by the BBB's National Advertising Division. The ruling stems from Dyson's challenge to ads for Shark, a rival vacuum cleaner marketed by Euro-Pro. Euro-Pro said it disagrees with the panel's conclusion, but will stop boasting that it's the most recommended vacuum cleaner, according to the opinion.

Euro-Pro's TV and online ads for the Shark called it “America’s Most Recommended Vacuum.” Euro-Pro said that boast was based on its analysis of reviews at eight Web sites, including ones operated by Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot, Kohl’s, Lowes, Sam’s Club, Sears/Kmart, Target, and Walmart. Euro-Pro told the panel that Shark cleaners were recommended by 94.2% of reviewers, while Dyson was only recommended by 89.9% of reviewers.

The BBB's appellate panel said that those reviews didn't support Euro-Pro's “broad” claims. But the panel also left open the possibility of using consumer reviews in ads, and said that the vacuum cleaner reviews potentially could support “narrower” boasts by Euro-Pro.

The self-regulatory group found Euro-Pro's methodology problematic for several reasons. One was that the reviews were mainly left by online shoppers -- a group the panel said might have different expectations than people who buy products in brick-and-mortar stores.

 “The record showed that the vast majority of vacuum cleaners -- at least 84% -- are purchased in brick and mortar stores,” the panelists wrote. “And while consumers who purchase vacuums in a brick-and-mortar store can leave an online review, it is clear that most do not.”

The National Advertising Review Board also said that online purchases were likely to be for more expensive vacuums, “which raises the possibility that online purchasers might have different experiences and expectations as compared to offline purchasers.”

Another problem with relying on reviews collected across a variety of sites is that the consumers who posted the reviews were responding to different questions, according to the panel. Also, the sites analyzed “did not have consistent policies as to how long consumer reviews were displayed, which means that some may have been more heavily weighted toward the review of outdated models,” the panel wrote.