Product reviews increase your online sales by 270%!

Key findings:

• The purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than the purchase likelihood of a product with no reviews.
• For lower-priced products, the conversion rate increased 190%; for higher-priced products the conversion rate increased 380%.
• Five stars is “too good to be true” – purchase likelihood peaked at ratings in the 4.0 – 4.7 range, and then started to decrease as ratings approach 5.0.
• Reviews from verified buyers were substantially more positive and with a higher rating than reviews written by anonymous sources.
• “Verified buyer badges” improves the odds of purchase by 15%.

Reference: https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/how-online-reviews-influence-sales/

What does this mean for you as a retailer?

• You need to have product ratings and reviews in you online store, or you will lose customers to a site that does.
• Make sure you have 5+ reviews on a big portion of your products – not only the best sellers to maximize your online sales.
• Embrace negative reviews, as they establish credibility and authenticity (and give you valuable insight you can use to improve your business!)
• Display “Verified buyer badges” and do not allow for anonymous reviews – this ruins your data set and is likely to give you lower scores.