Reviews are the cornerstone of trust and reassurance for any ecommerce store. It doesn’t matter whether you sell stylish clothing or safety equipment, reviews are going to be important for boosting your conversion rate.
However, reviews are not as simple as a star rating anymore. The landscape of reviews is constantly evolving.
What is the future of ecommerce reviews? What should you be prioritising for your ecommerce store?
#1 – Photo and video content
Whilst photos and video content is not new for reviews, it is certainly becoming a staple of ecommerce. Shoppers want to be able to see the products in action and understand exactly how they will arrive.
Some shoppers have started to question stylish, high professional product images that have been created by brands – as they can be manipulated easily.
By showcasing and encouraging your customers to create photo and video content as part of their review, you can boost your conversion rates even further by showing transparency and authenticity in your product range.
#2 – Authorised reviews
Many shoppers distrust reviews in general – thinking that they are bought by bots and are ingenuine. By only allowing authorised reviews from genuine customers, you are adding a step that can make sure your shoppers can trust your reviews.
This may of course lower your average rating or make room for negative reviews, however it does make your reviews look more genuine and trustful. Shoppers won’t think twice about a 3.5 / 5 or a 4 / 5 average rating, but they will certainly distrust a 5 / 5 average rating.
#3 – Social reviews
Your customers will likely be talking about your product and your brand on social anyway, so why not make the most of this attention and integrate social content with your reviews.
If you are tagged in social content on Instagram or Twitter, you should integrate this with your reviews page for a diverse range of review styles.
Not only will this make your reviews more interesting with different review types, it will also seem more genuine and authentic and boost your conversion rates with potential shoppers.
#4 – Filtering and sorting
A new trend for ecommerce reviews is the ability for shoppers to filter and sort the reviews for a specific product. Reviews platforms such as Yotpo do this wonderfully, and allow shoppers to see reviews that are related to their experience and style.
If a fashion shopper is a certain size, or a food shopper has a specific dietary requirement, offering them the ability to filter based on these options will allow them to look at the reviews that are more likely to match their potential experience.
Similarly, if you allow shoppers to sort reviews based on rating or keyword, it will allow them to quickly see the reviews they want to see. If they can see the ‘lowest rated reviews’ or ‘reviews that mention delivery’ quickly, you can speed up the customer experience and encourage them to make a purchase faster.
#5 – Q&A
Shoppers look to reviews not only to understand the product and the quality, but also to answer questions that you may not have covered in the FAQs. They may look to reviews for answers to their questions about delivery, colour, size etc.
Some reviews platforms now allow for customers to ask reviewers specific questions about their experiences, and allow reviewers to answer them back honestly.
This takes off workload and pressure from your customer service teams, and allows shoppers to self-serve – encouraging them to checkout quicker.
#6 – Rewards for reviews
How are you encouraging your reviews? Some customers may shop with dozens of brands – all of them asking for reviews. How can you stand out and make sure your customers do leave reviews?
Whilst you want to be clear in not offering rewards for 5-star reviews (instead, rewarding honest and genuine reviews), you may need to offer discounts or special gifts for reviews.
By parting with a loyalty partner like LoyaltyLion too, you can integrate with your reviews platform with your loyalty scheme to encourage more reviews.
Maximise trust and reassurance
The key to improving conversion rate is improving the trust and reassurance messaging on site, and reviews are highly effective at doing so.
If you’re only utilising the default reviews system of your ecommerce platform, you may not be maximising the opportunity here.
If you need help with reviewing your reviews and loyalty schemes for your store and are looking for an ecommerce consultant partner, then get in touch.
