Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides. It has approximately 4 million subscribers and an annual testing budget of approximately $21 million U.S. The annual Consumer Reports new car issue, released every April, is typically the magazine’s best-selling issue and is thought to influence millions of automobile purchases
Objectivity
Consumer Reports does not print outside advertising, accept free product samples, or permit the commercial use of its reviews for selling products. Its publisher states that this policy allows the magazine to “maintain our independence and impartiality CU has no agenda other than the interests of consumers.”
Consumer Reports states that all tested products are purchased at retail by its staff, that no free samples are accepted from manufacturers, and that this avoids the possibility of bias from bribery or from being given “better than average” samples.