E-Commerce Seller Financing   •   October 28, 2019

The internet has radically changed the way we shop. E-commerce is getting more popular, and an estimated number of 1.92 billion people worldwide shop online.  From books and clothes to furniture and groceries, pretty much anything can be found for sale online.

Yet, how do people choose which buyers to favor and which products to buy?

The answer lies in customer reviews, and statistics back that up.

Customer reviews are critical for e-commerce, and, on many occasions, more important than many e-commerce businesses realize.

Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons why that’s so and the data that supports that.

Why Customer Reviews Matter

1. Customer Reviews Drive More Sales

One of the primary reasons your e-commerce business should display customer reviews on your site is increased sales. As many as 93% of buyers take prior customer reviews into consideration before making a purchase.

68% of all potential customers are willing to pay more for higher quality products or services. In fact, according to a study, businesses saw an 18% increase in sales after displaying customer reviews.

Even if you own a physical location, online reviews still matter. 97% of shoppers use online resources to look for products and services in their area. This means that nearly every person coming to your physical store has researched you online.

And it’s not just perfect five-star ratings that matter. Customers are willing to give a product or a business chance if it has a minimum rating of 3.3. They also do not just look at the rating, but also take the time to read the content of the reviews, with 82% of buyers admitting that the content of the reviews has swayed their buying decision.

2. Customer Reviews Make Your Business More Visible

To become a successful e-commerce business, you must be visible. Online shoppers turn to places such as Google, Yelp, and Facebook to source information and feedback on brands and products. Data shows that 81% of buyers turn to Google for online reviews, 59% to Yelp, and 49% to Facebook.

So, if your business is primarily seeking clients online and is targeting them with keyword-optimized product descriptions, then you should care about SEO, because SEO cares about reviews.

When your potential customers seek products online, Google scans millions of different indexed pages to provide the best match and the highest value search results. Highly targeted search results ensure that people choose Google over other search engines every time they have a query.

Google can give preference to products that have many reviews in search results because they have a higher likelihood of resulting in a satisfied customer. Therefore, it can display your product rating along with your product description.

The same applies to Google Ads. If you use those, Google can automatically generate an extension that displays product ratings along with your ad, making it more appealing to customers.

3. They Increase Social Proof

The more people believe that your products are good, the more other people will be willing to buy from you. This is your e-commerce business’s social proof, which leads to a higher possibility for people who do not know your business also trust you.

Since about 85% of all customers trust online reviews, it’s a good idea to consider displaying those to boost the credibility and social proof of your brand.

Trust is paramount to sales.

4. Reviews Generate Engagement

SEO and social proof aren’t the only factors that matter. Another important factor is engagement, or how actively people respond to your content. The more people interact with it, the more valuable search engines and social media will find it.

Think of it like a snowball rolling down the hill. The smaller it is, the slower it will roll. But the bigger it becomes, the faster it will move. One or two reviews may not make a massive difference at first. Yet, if you actively ask your customers to leave reviews, you’ll see your efforts pay off over time.

Customer Reviews Are a Long Term Game

When you first enable reviews on your site, you may not see much difference, especially if your e-commerce business is relatively new.

Nonetheless, don’t give up if you do not see an immediate difference.  Same as establishing an e-commerce business from zero, making customer reviews for you will also take time and effort.

If you stick with an effective strategy of gathering customer reviews, it will pay off over time. Therefore, you should always consider customer reviews a long-term strategy for your business.

Are you displaying customer reviews for your products? How are they affecting your sales?