Research
Original analyses built from Verdict's database of aggregated expert review scores. We track thousands of products and the scores professional reviewers gave them — these studies are what the data says when you step back from any single category.
July 30, 2026
Can't go wrong, or minefield? We measured the shopping risk in 370 categories.
In 76 categories every product scores within 0.3 points — the worst pick still averages 4.2/5. In 66 categories, one wrong click costs a full review point or more.
Read the study →July 2, 2026
The best product is rarely the priciest. We checked 296 categories.
In 64% of categories, the top-ranked product is not the most expensive — and in 73 of them, the best pick costs half the flagship price or less while reviewing as well or better.
Read the study →June 16, 2026
Which brands do reviewers rate highest? We ranked 28 of them.
Across 1,400+ shortlisted products, brand review scores run from 4.56 down to 4.10. Breville, DJI and Canon lead; Amazon's own label and Razer trail.
Read the study →Updated October 20, 2026
We graded the reviewers: the same product swings 0.66 points depending on who reviews it.
Rebuilt on 3,150 scores exactly as the outlets printed them. SoundGuys and Wired grade hardest; What Hi-Fi and CleverHiker grade easiest. On 27% of products the outlets sit a full point apart, sister sites included.
Read the study →June 1, 2026
Does a higher price buy a better product? We analyzed 1,434 of them.
Price and review quality are barely correlated (r=0.05) — and in a quarter of categories, the cheapest pick beats the priciest.
Read the study →