Many e-commerce business owners have grappled with the question of whether or not to include customer reviews on their site. They wonder if customers will take the time to share a review, and they also worry that a negative review could hurt sales. Those concerns aside, the widespread use of customer reviews has led consumers to expect reviews on every e-commerce site they visit. In fact, recent research from Salsify found that 82 percent of online shoppers want to see at least three product reviews when they are considering a purchase.
So should you include customer reviews, and if so, how can you make them work in your favor?
Why Reviews?
There are many pros to customer reviews, which:
- Improve your credibility and increase shoppers’ trust in your business and products.
- Provide shoppers with more information on which to base their purchasing decision.
- Increase your conversion rate and sales.
All of these things are possible, and 88 percent of consumers say they trust online reviews just as much as they do personal recommendations. Customer reviews are an important part of the buying decision, but shoppers are not expecting a 100-percent positive rating either. They are looking for multiple, credible opinions that share previous shoppers’ real-life experiences with the product in question.
Some e-commerce business owners may worry about adding reviews—it’s one more thing to monitor, and there is the concern that a small amount of reviews may result in a skewed impression of a product—but as long as you properly handle reviews, the benefits far outweigh any potential drawbacks.
Handling Reviews
Once you begin to offer customer reviews on your e-commerce site, you can take a three-pronged strategy for handling them.
Get MORE Reviews
As previously mentioned, numbers matter when it comes to product reviews. To get more reviews, all you typically have to do is ask! You shouldn’t incentivize reviews, but by setting up automated software, you can follow up with customers after their purchase to encourage feedback and testimonials.
Get More POSITIVE Reviews
Typically just by getting more reviews, you’ll start to gain more positive reviews. However, you can also get more positive reviews by taking the feedback you get to heart in order to improve your operations and the customer experience, and reminding your happy, repeat customers to leave a review.
Turn Negative Reviews into a Positive Experience
Finally, every business will encounter negative reviews from time to time. Respond quickly to these reviews and remain positive. After the initial response, take the discussions offline where you can review the complaint and come to a resolution.
Enabling customer reviews can benefit any e-commerce site, provided the process is handled properly. Follow these tips and you can give shoppers the reviews they have come to expect while also boosting your e-commerce sales.
About Endicia
Endicia is a leading provider of internet-based postage services that make it easier and more affordable to ship parcels through the U.S. Postal Service®. We know that shipping can be complex and our goal is to simplify your shipping operations so you can focus on doing what you do best. Visit us at www.endicia.com to learn more.