This blog will discuss the importance of product reviews for online retailers and how these can be used the most effectively to increase customer conversion rates. Product reviews allow a community of consumers to discuss and feedback on a product, and meet Chaffey’s description of “community participation”, under his second channel of “Online PR” (Chaffey, 2015).
Uncertainty in the online environment can make many consumers reluctant to engage in online transactions, due to the ambiguity inherent in virtual situations as opposed to face-to-face interactions (Racherla, 2012). McKnight emphasises that trust, by definition, mitigates such constraints and is the central construct that sustains both interpersonal and economic relationships (McKnight, 2001). The underpinning assumption in trust literature is that humans have a fundamental need to reduce uncertainty, and eWOM in the form of product reviews contribute to the building and maintenance of trust in an online environment.
Product review systems have become one of the most popular information sources for modern consumers (Racherla, 2012). Perhaps this is because they have a higher credibility, empathy and relevance to customers than marketers, as authors are “fellow consumers” (Bickart and Schindler, 2001). Findings from research conducted on my placement year, indicate the vital importance of online retailers using product reviews on product pages to increase customer conversion rates.
Table 1 Impact of Reviews on Product Pages March 2017
| Online Category | Conversion Rate With Review | Conversion Rate Without Review |
| Make Up | 9.4% | 5.9% |
| Skincare | 12.3% | 7.3% |
| Women’s Fragrance | 9.9% | 4.8% |
| Men’s Fragrance | 12.3% | 5.2% |
Source: Information compiled by Student from Online Trading Team.
Customers converted at a significantly higher rate on the products that had product reviews, compared to those that didn’t. Research by Bickart and Schindler indicates that negative reviews have a greater impact on experience goods (goods that need to be tried such as make up and skincare) whereas positive reviews have a greater impact on search goods (features can be objectively evaluated from available information) such as a piece of hardware (Bickart and Schindler, 2001). Other reports also indicate that negative reviews can be valuable too, as they help increase consumer trust in the opinions that they read (Charlton, 2015). However, the ratio of positive to negative reviews is critical to the consumer’s decision making process. Research has found that if the consumer reads between one and three bad online reviews, this would be enough to deter the majority (67%) of shoppers from purchasing a product or service (Charlton, 2015).
Source: Econsultancy, 2015
As well as improving conversions and customer experience, product reviews also have considerable SEO benefits as they provide fresh, new content for search engines (Charlton, 2015). The information is differentiated from the standard manufacturer product description, which increases the chance of them appearing higher up the SERP. If the reviews are formatted correctly, the star ranking can stand out and attract customers to increase click through rates. For example, see below the star ranking that John Lewis have implemented, which stands out amongst its competition. Research suggests that these attributes can achieve a 10-20% increase in click through rates (Charlton, 2015).
Once product reviews have been implemented, how can they be used effectively?
1.) Quantity
A difficulty with implementing product reviews can simply be encouraging enough customers to write a review in the first place. Third party providers such as Bazaar Voice and Reevoo are a guaranteed method of getting enough authenticated reviews from customers (Charlton, 2015). Other competitions and incentives can be used to entice customers to leave a review. For example, Debenhams ran a competition in March 2017 offering customers who left a review the chance to win a fragrance. The amount of reviews posted for the period increased by 200%.
Retailers can also send the customer an email post-purchase. The timing of the email must be considered to allow enough time for the customer to have tried the product but soon enough that it is still fresh in their mind. Marks and Spencer have used Bazaar Voice reviews functionally in post-purchase emails which has seen an increase in customer feedback of more than 400% (Charlton, 2015). An example below is a post-purchase email from online fashion retailer MISSGUIDED, who similarly use the BazaarVoice service.
Source: MISSGUIDED email sent to customer on 23/11/2017
2.) Format
Depending on the product, appropriate attributes should be assigned to the product for the customer to rate making it easy for customers to scan for what they are looking for (Li et al, 2008). For example, on a product page for a MAC lipstick, Debenhams divide the attributes to Quality, Value and Style. However, this could be deemed quite generic for a lipstick product where other factors such as pigment, finish and long wearing factors may be more accurate to make a purchase decision. An example of a retailer with a more sophisticated reviewing system is Sephora, see below.
Source: Debenhams.com
See Product Page here for reference, and other product reviews: https://tinyurl.com/y8qpxgj9
3.) Relevance
Sephora have adopted a sophisticated review tool, that allows beauty shoppers to see the reviews from other consumers that are their “Beauty Match” by identifying similar eye colour, hair colour, skin tone and skin type. This allows the product reviews to be a lot more tailored and relevant to the individual customer and will aid them to make a more informed purchasing decision.
Source: Sephora.com
See Product Page here for reference, and other product reviews: https://tinyurl.com/y6wmmy9b
References
Bickart, B., & Schindler, R. M. (2001). Internet forums as influential sources of consumer information. Journal of interactive marketing, 15(3), 31-40.
Chaffey, D. & Ellis-Chadwick, F. 2015, Digital marketing, Sixth edn, Pearson, Upper Saddle River.
Charlton, G. (2015). Econsultancy. Available: https://econsultancy.com/blog/9366-ecommerce-consumer-reviews-why-you-need-them-and-how-to-use-them. Last accessed 6th Jan 2017.
Li, X. & Hitt, L.M. 2008, “Self-Selection and Information Role of Online Product Reviews”, Information Systems Research, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 456-474
McKnight DH. 2001. What Trust Means in E-Commerce Customer Relationships: An Interdisciplinary Conceptual Typology. International Journal of Electronic Commerce 6(2): 35–59.
Racherla, P., Mandviwalla, M. & Connolly, D.J. 2012, “Factors affecting consumers’ trust in online product reviews: Consumer trust in online product reviews”, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 94-104.