Contemporary human society and the development of modern civilization are characterized by a high degree of dynamism, which is associated with the rapid development of science and modern technologies. This includes information and communication technologies, which, along with the emergence of the Internet and social media, enabled the development of modern consumerism. This has resulted in consumers no longer being perceived as passive recipients, but as active and participatory participants in the product improvement process, which is facilitated by interaction and collaboration in virtual communities. The progress of web 2.0 technology and social media enables the availability of various sales, purchase and communication channels and determines new trends that influence consumer behavior. In this context, online reviews are gaining more and more importance because they have the ability to strengthen consumer attitudes towards shopping, and at the same time influence the user's trust in the website or online store where the review is written. Reviews as such belong to the domain of electronic word-of-mouth marketing (WOMM) and act as an external stimulus that influences consumer behavior. This influence depends on whether it is about pre-defined products that the consumer intends to buy, i.e. a planned purchase, or whether it is an unplanned purchase that suggests potentially deviant consumer behavior. One of the frequent examples of such behavior is impulsive consumption, which is the result of reckless and quick consumer purchases with the purpose of achieving immediate satisfaction. Making purchase decisions is a complex process that represents a different experience for men and women, and in this paper, the influence of online reviews on women's purchasing behavior was investigated. Research results indicate that 93% of women read online reviews before making a final purchase decision, and 76% of them believe that reading online reviews has become an indispensable part of the purchase decision-making process. Most of them also believe (69%) that positive reviews are a trigger that leads consumers to make impulsive, thoughtless decisions, although further research has established that women in Croatia do not have developed tendencies towards impulsive consumption guided by reading reviews, but rather buy prudently and rationally, in accordance with their needs and possibilities. Purchase decisions are more driven by negative reviews, which reflects a degree of rationality and restraint when making purchase decisions, while positive reviews are perceived as guidelines for evaluating alternatives, and not as a criterion for making a final purchase decision.