We’ve all had the experience of shopping on Amazon, so it should come as no shock to learn that Amazon loves customer reviews. We know this from experience, every completed purchase is tagged with reminders and words of encouragement to leave a review, whether it be on the product itself or simply on the packaging used to ship the product. These reviews are as beneficial to the customers as they are to Amazon, for they help consumers find and choose products, and they help Amazon close sales. In an article for Practical Ecommerce, Pamela Hazelton (@pamelahazelton) discusses the benefits and powerful influence of customer reviews.

Trust is a key component of a successful business, and these days the rating system is just not enough to instill trust in customers -- consumers are more invested in the far more detailed picture that reviews alone have the ability to paint. Customer reviews provide the answers to questions that cannot be found in the product description, promotional videos, or features list. They answer the primary question associated with the competitive pricing of products: is the product a cheaply made knock-off or a bargain deal?

Positive Reviews

It’s important to note that positive reviews don’t necessarily guarantee satisfaction, but they are a good indicator of which products are worth spending on. According to Hazelton, a lack of reviews at all generally tells shoppers two things: the store is not yet successful enough in selling products to receive reviews, or the business doesn’t have the confidence to allow reviews. It can be just as suspicious to see an abundance of positive reviews mixed with a few n

egative ones -- is the merchant controlling the reviews and purposely ignoring all the non-favorable ones?

Amount of Reviews

However, there can be explanations as to why a product may receive few reviews or a disproportionate amount of positive to negative reviews. These range from the product being new and not having enough exposure time in the market to collect reviews, to review fraud. Businesses have been known to buy fake positive reviews for their products and leave fake negative reviews on the products of competitors. For example, if you search “Amazon reviews” in Fiverr, a services-based marketplace, the results show hundreds of people who are willing to leave fake positive reviews on your Amazon product for a charge of $5.

How to Get Reviews

The best way to get customers to leave reviews is by reaching out to them, whether that be via follow-up emails, reminders, or by awarding them points/bonuses when they take the time to submit a review. It is important that the reviews are honest and appear that way to shoppers, so approve negative reviews as long as they are respectful and don’t include potentially offensive content. Don’t underrate negative reviews, they can actually help sell products. Some may point out features that are lacking but aren’t necessarily a priority for every customer, and others can stem from user error rather than product error. We all know that it is impossible for any one product to be so loved that it receives solely 5 stars from every single customer.

Unanswered Reviews

Take advantage of unanswered questions left in reviews and embrace every opportunity to show shoppers that you actually care about their input, even if that means an apology is in order. Reviews sometimes point out missing elements in the product description or features list, so stay up to date and look over them frequently. The most commonly answered questions in reviews are criteria such as the real dimensions, color accuracy, battery life, and true sizing, all of which can help cut down on returns and provide customers with a more accurate picture before they make the purchase.

Reviews in the Sharing Economy

In this burgeoning sharing economy, reviews are the key indication of trustworthiness. Reviews are fundamental to companies such as Uber, Lyft, and Airbnb, as they serve as the primary judge of both the user and the host. These two sided reviews are key to a marketplace, as they stimulate honesty from both sides of the market. They are valuable user content that can foster trust in both sides of the business and generate customers from visitors.

Moral of the story: Don’t be afraid of reviews, embrace them and take advantage of all they can offer!