Consumers More Likely to Purchase Items from Websites with Product Reviews [study]

Thanks to the unending supply of information consumers can acquire with only their fingertips, people looking to buy products online only have to go a short distance to find all the information they need about the product. It may not be a surprise, then, to learn that in a recent study, 61 percent of consumers said they read reviews online before making purchasing decisions. Reviews are a great way to feel comfortable and validated in a purchase decision and eCommerce websites need to make use of them within their product pages.

Thirty-three percent of consumers in the US review products online after purchasing them. And those reviews help spur on others to make their own purchases. When a product has 50 or more reviews, that product is more likely to have an increase in conversion rates by 4.6 percent. Sixty-three percent of consumers are more likely to buy items from a website that presents user reviews, no matter the number.

Sites that go one step further and have areas dedicated to not only reviews but also customer questions see a tremendous boost in consumer purchases – visitors there are 105 percent more likely to purchase while on the site.

Compared to official descriptions from a product’s manufacturer, consumers see user reviews as more trustworthy as well – nearly twelve times more trustworthy, in fact.

Finally, overall sales can see an upward swing thanks to reviews. Those surveyed said they saw an average lift of 18 percent.

Sources:

• “Ecommerce consumer reviews: why you need them and how to use them.” 2014. Econsultancy.com
• “Why Your Ecommerce Site Needs Product Reviews and How to Get Them.” 2014. NPWS.net