PowerReviews

2023 Amazon Ratings & Reviews Benchmarks

PowerReviews Team — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 20:10:44 +0000

Benchmarks based on existing Ratings and Reviews data from brands selling on Amazon.com

Amazon claims the top spot for eCommerce sales and traffic by a large margin — but that’s not all. It is also the most common place for people to start their purchase journey.

Your review footprint on Amazon.com – therefore – can be the difference between winning and losing. We analyzed more than 12M product reviews from over 31,000+ brands on Amazon.com to outline the specific benchmarks you need to know.

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Check out the ungated report to find out:

Average star rating per category
Average review volume per category
And more benchmarks across verticals like electronics, beauty, grocery, CPG, home & garden, clothing and shoes

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(No form fill required!)

The post 2023 Amazon Ratings & Reviews Benchmarks appeared first on PowerReviews.

2023 Walmart.com Ratings & Reviews Benchmarks

PowerReviews Team — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 15:56:03 +0000

Benchmarks based on existing Ratings and Reviews data from brands selling on Walmart.com.

Walmart is a commerce giant whichever way you slice it – and Walmart.com is an absolutely critical sales channel for many brands. So standing out when competition is so severe is a huge challenge.

Your review footprint on Walmart.com – therefore – can be the difference between winning and losing. We analyzed more than 1M product reviews from 550+ brands on Walmart.com to outline the specific benchmarks you need to know.

Download Now

Check out the ungated report to find out:

Average star rating per category
Average review volume per category
And more benchmarks across verticals like electronics, beauty, grocery, CPG, home & garden, clothing and shoes

Download Now

(No form fill required!)

The post 2023 Walmart.com Ratings & Reviews Benchmarks appeared first on PowerReviews.

Ratings & Reviews Snapshot: Shoes

PowerReviews Team — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 17:44:46 +0000

What You Need to Know in Under 5 Mins

Almost all (98%) of consumers read ratings and reviews at least sometimes when shopping for footwear online. 85% do so regularly or always.

And with a conversion lift of 108.6%, those shoppers who interact with ratings and reviews are more than twice as likely to convert as those who don’t.

Clearly, ratings and reviews can be a huge driver for success in the shoes category.

Review Benchmarks: Shoes

The following benchmarks come from an analysis of product pages on PowerReviews client sites in the shoes category.

69.7%

Review Coverage

4.5

Average Star Rating

174

Average Review Length

194

Reviews per Product

35.1%

Average Media Coverage

Monitoring the above metrics can help you ensure you’re generating both review quantity and quality — the essential cornerstones of any high-impact UGC strategy. Together, you can think of them as the North Star guiding your UGC strategy.

Review Coverage = 69.7%

69.7% of the shoes we analyzed have at least 1 review, which is a good starting point. However, it’s worth noting that the fewer reviews a shoe has, the more hesitance shoppers have about adding it to their carts — with 5% of shoe shoppers flat-out refusing to buy shoes that have 0 reviews.

Average Star Rating = 4.5 stars

This is just below the sweet spot we recommend for the optimal conversion lift. Our research shows that products with ratings between 4.75 – 4.99 stars have the highest conversion rates.

Average Review Length = 174 characters

Longer reviews tend to have higher conversion rates, as they provide richer detail and more relevant information for shoppers. We recommend a stretch goal of 500 characters for the maximum uplift.

Reviews Per Product = 194

The average shoe in our analysis has 194 reviews. This is excellent, as 90% of shoe shoppers say they are comfortable purchasing a clothing item as long as it has 100–500 reviews or less. Given consumers’ high demands for review volume in the shoe category, though, brands must be consistently reaching out to customers to collect new reviews.

Average Media Coverage = 35.1%

35.1% of the footwear products we analyzed have at least one user-generated product image or a video. This is a strong start, but consumers expect to see much more user-generated imagery from shoe brands. A majority (71%) of consumers “always” or “regularly” seek out user-generated imagery when shopping for shoes online. And, increasing this percentage can work wonders for your conversion rates, as visitors who interact with user-generated photos and videos are 103.9% more likely to convert.

How Review Volume Impacts Conversion for Footwear Brands

So, if the average footwear product boasts 194 reviews, can you rest easy once each of your shoes has that many reviews?

You can, but you won’t see as many conversions as you would if you kept on pushing for more reviews.

As you can see from the chart below, there is a direct relationship between review volume and conversion lift. The more reviews a shoe has, the more likely it is to be purchased.

Review Volume and Conversion Impact

This chart shows the lift in conversion when a customer sees a product page with a certain number of reviews displayed vs. a product page with 0 reviews. Shoe brands that aim to gather at least 100 reviews for their products can enjoy big upswings in their conversion rates. But once they reach 1,000 reviews per product, their conversion lift really skyrockets.

What Makes a Great Footwear Review?

Review volume is important, but so is review quality. Let’s take a look at what makes a great review for a product in the footwear category, courtesy of Crocs.

When people are shopping for shoes, they are looking for very specific, in-depth information that only reviews from other customers can provide in a credible and authentic way. For example, shoe shoppers want to know:

Is this shoe comfortable?
Where, and for what activities, can I wear this shoe?
Is the fit of this shoe in line with other shoes from this brand?
What are the real pros and cons of this shoe, regardless of what the brand claims?
Is this review from someone like me? (e.g. Do we have the same personal style? Do we like the same kind of shoes?)

These are the kind of questions that can only be answered by a detailed review from another verified customer. Review elements like star rating and review count pique a shopper’s interest, getting them to click through to the product page. But it’s the quality of a review that gets them to actually add that shoe to their cart. In this way, review quality and quantity work together, nudging shoppers down the funnel.

Power Pro Tip Add a character counter to your reviews! As the reviewer starts typing, a green progress bar cheers them along the way.

How to Collect Footwear Reviews That Convert Browsers Into Buyers

So, how can shoe brands maximize the quality of their reviews, with an eye towards lifting conversions? It all comes down to how you optimize your review form.

At PowerReviews, we enable brands to add custom questions to their review forms to zoom in on the most relevant information for their customers. Many of the questions we spoke to in the previous question — fit, use case, personal style — are the most impactful review questions for footwear brands.

The shoe category is one that can be vulnerable to high levels of returns. With 75% of shoppers citing poor fit as a top reason for returns, providing this additional fit information in reviews can do a lot to limit returns.

You don’t have to just take our word for it. In fact, we surveyed over 9,200 shoppers and 66% of them said that the ability to read ratings and reviews prior to purchase would have made them less likely to return. Slightly more (69%) said that being able to see photos and videos from other consumers first also decreases their likelihood of making a return.

So, add questions to your review form that help shoppers understand more about fit. For example, does the shoe run big or is it true to size? How would a reviewer describe their foot shape or width? Encourage reviewers to add a photo to their review for more context.

These custom questions are particularly important for the shoe category, even more so than others. After comfort, “fit and sizing” information is the top consideration for shoppers when purchasing footwear, with 89% of shoe shoppers seeking it out when shopping for new shoes.

Once you have your review form and display optimized for maximum impact, it’s time to go out and collect those reviews! Try:

Sending post-purchase emails
Asking for reviews on receipts and invoices
Including review requests in your product packaging
Asking for reviews via text or social media
Hosting a review sweepstakes or contest
Offering loyalty points in return for a review
Running a product sampling campaign

Bonus Step: Syndicate Your Reviews for Maximum Impact

Let’s look to the future for a moment. Picture it: You’ve got a strong UGC strategy that’s been up and running for months, you’re collecting great reviews, and they’re all on your website for your customers to see.

This would be great if shoppers exclusively purchased their shoes through footwear brands’ websites — but they don’t. Only 38% of shoppers start their purchase journey on a brand’s website. The other 62% start on a retailer’s website, Amazon, or elsewhere.

Here’s where review syndication comes in. In essence, review syndication allows you to push reviews collected on your own D2C website out to the websites of your retail partners. For example, here’s a review collected on Skechers that was syndicated to both Zappos and Shoe Carnival.

From a single review, Skechers was able to create 3 reviews, all on websites where their customers may encounter their shoes.

Review syndication exponentially increases the value and reach of your review, putting it in front of more eyeballs and increasing your sales volumes at your retail partners. We recommend choosing retailers based on your sales data, as your best-selling retailers are the ones where you’re going to get the biggest uplift from syndication.

Is your UGC strategy due for a refresh? Contact PowerReviews today to learn more about how UGC can grow your sales.

The post Ratings & Reviews Snapshot: Shoes appeared first on PowerReviews.

2023 Holiday Shopping Trends

Paige Thulin — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 16:26:12 +0000

In our latest survey, we look closer at how much consumers plan to spend during the 2023 Holidays, where they plan to spend their holiday shopping dollars, and what factors will influence their purchase decisions.

The post 2023 Holiday Shopping Trends appeared first on PowerReviews.

Ratings & Reviews Snapshot: Apparel

PowerReviews Team — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 17:58:15 +0000

What You Need to Know in Under 5 Mins

Ratings and reviews can make or break a clothing brand. 86% of apparel shoppers “always” or “regularly” read reviews when shopping for new apparel products. And nearly as many (80%) are less likely to buy an apparel product if it has no reviews, including 89% of Gen Z shoppers.

The fast pace and seasonal nature of the fashion industry makes the apparel category highly competitive. So, building a great Ratings & Reviews program is important. To do that successfully, you need to understand how you stack up against other brands within your category.

Review Benchmarks: Apparel

The following benchmarks come from a representative analysis of product pages in the Apparel and Accessories category.

53.5%

Review Coverage

4.5

Average Star Rating

135

Average Review Length

279

Reviews per Product

16.5%

Average Media Coverage

Monitoring the above metrics can help you ensure you’re generating both review quantity and review quality — the essential cornerstones of any high-impact UGC strategy.

Review Coverage = 53.5%

53.5% of the apparel products we analyzed have at least 1 review, which is much lower than other verticals. One explanation could be that this category has a lot of seasonality to it. Apparel brands are continuously refreshing their product assortment, so you have lots of new products going live without reviews, and fewer products with reviews that are evergreen. Explanations aside, boosting this number is critical to standing out against competitors on the digital shelf.

Average Star Rating = 4.5 stars

This is just below the sweet spot we recommend for the optimal conversion lift. Our research shows that products with ratings between 4.75 – 4.99 stars have the highest conversion rates.

Average Review Length = 135 characters

Longer reviews tend to have higher conversion rates, as they provide richer detail and more relevant information for shoppers. We recommend a stretch goal of 500 characters for the maximum uplift.

Reviews Per Product = 279

The average apparel product in our analysis has 279 reviews. This is excellent, as 90% of apparel shoppers say they are comfortable purchasing a clothing item as long as it has 100–500 reviews or less. Given consumers’ high demands for review volume in the apparel category, brands must be consistently reaching out to customers to collect new reviews.

Average Media Coverage = 16.5%

16.5% of the apparel products we analyzed have at least one user-generated product image or a video. This is a good start, but consumers expect to see much more user-generated imagery from apparel brands. 99% of Gen Z shoppers seek out user-generated imagery at least sometimes when shopping for clothing online. And, increasing this percentage can work wonders for your conversion rates, as visitors who interact with user-generated photos and videos are 103.9% more likely to convert.

How Review Volume Impacts Conversion for Apparel Brands

Now that you know that 279 reviews per product is the baseline for apparel brands, the question becomes, “How many more reviews do you need to stand out?”

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about ratings and reviews, it’s that the needle is always moving. Today, 279 reviews per product is a good baseline to go after, but to really stand out, you need to always be collecting fresh, detailed reviews for your clothing and accessories.

Plus, the more reviews you have, the more likely a shopper is to convert. Just take a look at this chart, which shows the lift in conversion when a customer sees a product page with a certain number of reviews displayed vs. a product page with 0 reviews.

Review Volume and Conversion Impact

As you can see, there is a direct relationship between review volume and conversion lift. The more reviews a product has, the more likely it is to be purchased.

What Makes a Great Apparel Product Review?

Review volume is important, but so is review quality. Let’s take a look at what makes a great review for a product in the apparel and accessories category.

When people are shopping for apparel items, they are looking for lots of very specific information that you only really get once you dig into the review. Apparel shoppers want to understand all the elements that they can’t experience virtually through the online shopping experience. For example:

How does the reviewer rate and describe the quality of the material?
Was the item a good value for what they paid?
What’s the fit like?

These questions can be answered by a detailed, high-quality review — all the more so if the reviewer includes a photo of the item itself! (Did we mention that shoppers who interact with user-generated imagery convert at a rate 103.9% higher?) The more information that you capture, the more likely you are to drive conversions.

Power Pro Tip Add a character counter to your reviews! As the reviewer starts typing, a green progress bar cheers them along the way.

How to Collect Apparel Reviews That Convert Browsers Into Buyers

So, how can apparel brands maximize the quality of their reviews, with an eye towards lifting conversions? It all comes down to how you optimize your review form.

At PowerReviews, we enable brands to add custom questions to their review forms to zoom in on the most relevant information for their customers. For apparel brands, these questions often speak to the quality, fit, and size of a product. It’s also important to ask questions about the reviewer’s body shape, so that future customers can seek out reviews from people like them.

Your goal is to maximize the information you capture from a review, without overwhelming the reviewer so that they give up. We find that 8 questions is the sweet spot and once a form becomes much longer than that, you tend to see a higher rate of abandonment. So, be selective!

These specific questions are particularly important for the Apparel category, even more so than others. Nearly all (92%) of consumers pay attention to sizing and fit information when shopping for clothing, and 94% find it helpful to see measurement information (height, weight, etc.) from reviews for apparel.

Once you have your review form and display optimized for maximum impact, it’s time to go out and collect those reviews! Try:

Sending post-purchase emails
Asking for reviews on receipts and invoices
Including review requests in your product packaging
Asking for reviews via text or social media
Hosting a review sweepstakes or contest
Offering loyalty points in return for a review
Running a product sampling campaign

Bonus Step: Syndicate Your Reviews for Maximum Impact

Collecting reviews for your website is an important first step. To really extend the reach of your reviews — and boost conversions in the process — you’ll want to generate high review volumes for your top-priority retail partners, too.

Fortunately, there’s a super-easy way to do that, and it’s called Review Syndication. Here’s how it works: You collect a review through your website, and then – through the power of UGC Syndication by PowerReviews – that review gets pushed to your retailer partners who sell that same product.

Here’s an example from The North Face, who turned a single review on their website into 4 reviews for their retail partners.

Does your UGC strategy deserve a fashion makeover? Contact PowerReviews today to learn more about how UGC can grow your sales.

The post Ratings & Reviews Snapshot: Apparel appeared first on PowerReviews.

Sick of returns? PowerReviews is the cure!

PowerReviews Team — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 18:29:40 +0000

More than ⅔ of shoppers say the ability to read ratings and reviews prior to purchase decreases their likelihood to make a return.

Side Effects: Ratings & Reviews

Fewer product returns due to increased consumer confidence
Customers purchase the correct size the first time, because they can see how others with a similar shape have experienced the products fit
Ability to ensure the product description matches the IRL product. No surprises when the item arrives

Consult your Customer Success Team for tips to increase your daily dose of reviews.

Read the report to find out why ratings and reviews might be the cure to your return woes.

Learn More

The post Sick of returns? PowerReviews is the cure! appeared first on PowerReviews.