From Consumer Reports to Wirecutter, recommendation sites are ruling our shopping habits

Gone are the days when we’d browse a local store if we needed a new air purifier or oven mitt. Now, many people don’t dare make a purchase without first Googling “best kitchen mixer” and browsing lists of top-tens on recommendation sites. How did these sites come to dominate our shopping carts? And if you’re not a fan of that humidifier you got off a top-ten list, are there other ways to shop? GUESTS: Inger Stole is a professor emerita at the University of Illinois Michael Zhao was the first employee and a former deputy editor at Wirecutter Mark Frauenfelder is a co-editor of Recomendo Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.