In today's ecommerce world, reviews are essential for businesses looking to boost their brand's conversion, credibility, and overall ecommerce presence. Amazon dominates the online market with over $385 billion in net sales and over 200 million unique monthly US visitors. These shoppers lean on the reviews of their trusted peers to make purchase decisions. This article will discuss why reviews are important on Amazon and how they can benefit both businesses and shoppers.
Why are reviews important?
Reviews are crucial to shoppers unfamiliar with a brand or product and need more confidence to purchase. Research shows that 84% of shoppers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 91% occasionally or regularly read online reviews. Reviews create trust and add transparency to the purchasing experience, making shoppers more willing to buy.
How do reviews affect businesses?
Reviews directly impact a brand's reputation, increase or decrease sales, and can be the final nudge that either converts a customer or convinces them never to give the brand a second thought.
Amazon strategically places reviews in higher location priority before the product specifications and detail bullets. Customer feedback appears before a brand's carefully crafted messaging, making reviews essential in creating an ecommerce presence. Approximately 93% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase, and a whopping 68% of consumers form an opinion on a product after reading between 1 and 6 online reviews. Positive reviews are crucial in making a good first impression and creating trust with potential customers.
Do reviews influence product ranking on Amazon?
Product reviews are not the sole deciding factor in where items appear in Amazon rankings; sales are still the champion when Amazon's algorithm delivers search results. Amazon indicates "Best Seller" and "Amazon's Choice" next to products, but those only appear on two results for any given search. However, every product gets a boost from its review summary and star rating right on the results page.
It is worth noting that the keywords consumers use in reviews can help products fare better in search results, and Amazon rewards brands with great customer service that respond quickly to reviews and questions.
How does Amazon build review summaries?
Amazon is very secretive about how it arrives at an item's star rating summary. Reviews and ratings are weighted to scale, but star ratings do not necessarily correlate with Best Seller or item rank status. Amazon's models factor in how recently a rating or review was written and whether the purchase was verified.
Amazon uses Amazon Vine, an invite-only program, to foster unbiased, trustworthy reviews. Amazon Vine reviewers, called Vine Voices, are invited to participate based on their reviews' helpfulness and expertise in specific categories. Sellers participating in the program pay a fixed fee and distribute free products; reviewers give their honest opinion in return. It is not a guaranteed 5-star review service; however, having Vine reviews helps to boost sales.
Reviews are essential to the ecommerce experience and should be an integral part of any business's marketing strategy. Amazon reviews create trust and transparency in the purchasing experience, impacting a brand's reputation and overall ecommerce presence. Positive reviews are essential in creating a good first impression with potential customers and influencing purchase decisions. While product reviews do not solely determine ranking status, they still greatly influence conversions on Amazon.
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