How to Use Amazon Product Reviews to Boost Your eCommerce Strategy

Do you know that 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust recommendations from friends?

In fact, good reviews can increase conversions by 270%. On Amazon, approximately 95% of consumers read Amazon product reviews before making a purchase. Positive reviews on Amazon (And honestly, on any marketplace) help your potential customers choose your products. They are also essential to increase your eCommerce sales on Amazon and other marketplaces. In this article, we will show you how you can use consumer reviews to drive more sales:

What are consumer reviews?

Reviews have evolved over the years to include not only text, but illustrations, symbols, and other indicators of quality. The goal, however, is unchanged. Consumer reviews typically include one or more of the following:

Product reviews

This text-based feedback, usually comments, can include the user’s experience, including what they loved or didn’t love. It is generally in a free-form format where the reviewer can share their experience with your product.

Product ratings

Quickly seeing a number or letter rating for an item helps consumers browsing online make purchase decisions quickly. Service-based websites may lean toward an A to F rating system while product sites opt for a 1-10 scale, thumbs up vs. thumbs down, or a simplified “Pros” and “Cons” table. These formats provide shoppers with useful, more scannable information.

Star ratings and 5-star reviews

The rise in popularity of “5-star” reviews makes it easier for consumers to determine if the products they are considering are generally good or bad. Thousands of 5-star ratings boost consumer confidence whereas hundreds of one or two-star ratings are likely to do the opposite. Limitations to this method include inconsistency with which reviewers apply the ratings – a four-star to someone may be a three-star to someone else. This is why many platforms paid the star rating with a freeform product review section.

Location of reviews

Most often, the product detail page includes review information for shoppers to reference. Scan-worthy information, like the star rating or notable text reviews, sits near the product name or description. There should be a quick link to all the reviews on the page, so shoppers get what they need without navigating away from the buy page.

Why consumer reviews matter

While shopping online can empower consumers to access a wide range of products, consumer reviews help customers cut through the noise and make confident buying decisions. Other benefits of consumer reviews include:

• Build consumer trust: Before eCommerce, consumer trust could take years to cultivate. Now, a new-to-market product or brand can jump to the front of the line with positive reviews.
• Call out competitive advantage: When deciding between your products vs. competitors’ products, reviews may be the only thing a customer relies on to take action.
• Increased visibility and higher search ranking: Reviews help boost product and brand visibility and are a critical component of your Amazon product listing optimization. A larger number of reviews helps ensure your products appear higher in search results on both eCommerce marketplaces, like Amazon, and outside engines, like Google or DuckDuckGo. Many sites have proprietary algorithms influencing ranking which factor in the number of reviews.
• Sets the tone for new products: Reviews that frame a company or vendor as trustworthy can create a pathway for launching a new product without having to establish trust all over again.
• Increase profitability: Sellers need to pay attention to the review system to profit on the largest eCommerce sites. In fact, Amazon sales rely almost entirely on Amazon product reviews for unpaid product differentiation.

Amazon consumer reviews

Since reviews and ratings are lifelines for brands selling on eCommerce platforms, they help you bolster your product reviews on Amazon, the world’s largest eCommerce website. Here, reviews are integral to maximizing benefits for both buyers and sellers maximum with Amazon accounts.

How to get Amazon reviews

To get your first review or even more recent reviews, consider these two legal options through the Amazon Seller program:

Use the “Request a Review” feature

Consistently prompt a request for a review with Amazon’s Review button. Authorized by Amazon, it’s easy to use and sends an automatically-generated email through the Amazon system. It’s a one-time option, so don’t forget to use it after each sale.

Also, be sure to understand Amazon’s terms and conditions for keeping your review request privileges and read seller community guidelines for the most appropriate and up-to-date seller messaging rules. For instance, Amazon forbids requests for only positive reviews or promises of perks and prizes.

Encourage seller feedback

Asking customers to review you as a vendor, rather than reviewing your products, can grow your influence. When a buyer makes a purchase, they will often get automated follow-ups from Amazon directly. Trust these systems and do what you can do to give the best customer experience. This is truly the most reputable and long-term way to build your seller reputation.

Read More: How to Get Amazon Reviews: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to improve consumer reviews on Amazon [8 tips]

Started getting some reviews? Let’s make them count by following these tips:

1. Strive for honest reviews

It’s essential for your store or product to be associated with honest reviews, even if this means a slightly lower overall rating or score. Be sure to avoid fake review schemes and only rely on verified purchases to determine if a buyer’s review is legitimate. Customers will be suspicious of items with all 5 stars and unoriginal text summaries that only praise the product benefits.

2. Encourage recent reviews

Try to keep reviews coming continually, with new reviews posted throughout the month and year. A regular review frequency will help show that you’re still a relevant seller.

3. Get as many reviews as you can

The number of reviews will boost your ranking. Work to increase these numbers over time to appear higher in search results and stronger through Amazon’s algorithm.

Pro Tip: Use Shopper Intelligence to see the number of reviews and ratings of top products in your category and see how you compare (pictured)

4. Try the Early Reviewer Program

Brands with very few reviews can enroll in the Early Reviewer program, which is the only Amazon-approved way to exchange rewards for a review.

Shoppers who buy your product will get an offer for a $1-3 Amazon gift card in exchange for a review, and you will be charged for each review received.

5. Conduct contests and incentivized reviews carefully

Since Amazon doesn’t endorse contests or incentivized reviews, approach this tactic with caution. For sellers that decide to go this route, use third-party promotional tools or even a product insert to advertise and motivate buyers to leave reviews. For instance, you can offer free gift cards when customers email customer service with a screenshot of their Amazon reviews.

6. Embrace packaging options

Product inserts can also be used as general marketing tools to help drive followers to your social media accounts or join your email list. If you ask purchasers to join your community, this gives you another way to reach out to them outside of Amazon to promote a new product or advertise sales.

7. When possible, flag negative reviews

While there is generally little you can do if you receive negative reviews, those that violate Amazon’s terms of service are eligible for removal. Violations include profanity, including personal information, or complaining about things outside of seller control, like USPS delivery times.

When a review violates Amazon’s terms of service, click the “Report Abuse” link near the review in question or contact Amazon through email.

If you can’t remove a review try to respond to negative feedback.

8. Boost your ranking through quality, not quantity

Your positive reviews will soon outweigh any negative ones, so delivering on your promises and giving great experiences. are key to selling and building a great brand reputation.

Most reviewed items on Amazon

To help benchmark your product, check out the average number of reviews and ratings for the top ten products per major Amazon categories. We also include the category winner for the most-reviewed items.

Free cheat sheet: Amazon Review Benchmarks

The bottom line on Amazon product reviews

There are many products, courses, and services out there claiming to be your ticket to fast, cheap, and plentiful product reviews, but none of them will replace what can happen with excellent customer service and a top-notch product.

The best Amazon sellers know their market and consistently deliver on their promises. You can boost your rankings by being strategic about how you describe and tag your products. This data helps set the expectation your customers have about your offerings.

Also, tools like Shopper Intelligence can be a significant first step in knowing the industry you serve and selling more online. With it, you can benchmark your competitors and see the number of reviews and rating(s) for the highest-rated Amazon products across categories.

FAQ

How do I increase Amazon product reviews?

One good way is to send a personalized review request via email.

How many reviews is a good product on Amazon?

Amazon recommends at least 25 reviews for a listing before you start scaling advertising.

by Emily Hunt

Market Research & eCommerce Specialist

Emily writes about digital retail, CPG, travel, and consumer finance, with a background in business development and marketing.