Product reviews in online shops: an effective tool to support purchasing decisions

When shopping online, customers cannot examine the goods with their own eyes or check their quality by touching them. They therefore have to rely on product photos and descriptions provided by the sellers. Product reviews help your buyers to find out whether the product in question meets their expectations. Below, you will learn how product reviews can help you optimize your online store and reduce your return rate.

Origin of product evaluation

User criticism originated in newspapers and magazines, where films, plays, or books, for example, are reviewed. However, since the invention of the internet, reviews of social or cultural events or products are no longer reserved for journalists or professional critics— all users can express their personal opinions on any topic at any time in the comments section of websites.

This also applies to purchases made in online shops, where customers can share their experiences of the products or services they have purchased there with other shop visitors. Whether in text form or supplemented by the awarding of points or stars, customer reviews are an important factor in the purchasing decisions of potential buyers. For this reason, most shop operators ask their customers to rate their experiences with the purchase, product, or service after completing the transaction.

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Product reviews are used here

Whether it's a restaurant, online supermarket, or moving company, customer reviews can be found wherever consumers purchase services or goods. According to a Capterra user study, 80% of consumers said they read customer reviews on Amazon in 2020.¹ So there are good reasons to integrate product reviews into your online shop to turn prospects into buyers – and thus increase sales.

notebooksbilliger.de offers customers the opportunity to rate products in the form of stars and text on the product detail page. (Source: Screenshot from notebooksbilliger.de)

Product reviews build trust and influence purchasing decisions

People like to base their decisions on what others think is good – and allow themselves to be influenced by this when making decisions. This phenomenon, known as social proof, also applies to e-commerce. For most German online shoppers, product reviews from other buyers are one of the most important factors influencing their purchasing decisions. According to a 2021 study by Bitkom, 54% of shoppers base their decisions on product reviews in online shops, while 44% rely on manufacturers' and retailers' websites, which include product descriptions, as a slightly less popular source of information.²

Reviews provide advice and prevent returns

There are now many different tools available to provide your customers with comprehensive advice online. Customer reviews in your online shop can also be seen as a form of advice. This decision-making aid works as a combination of product reviews by buyers and responses from shop operators. In your response to a review, you can, for example, provide important help and advice regarding returns or suggest alternative products that better meet the customer's expectations.

But buyer reviews alone can also provide advice. For example, when customers leave feedback that a garment runs particularly large or small, potential new customers can factor this information into their purchasing decision. Items with reviews are therefore purchased more often than those without reviews – and, above all, in the best case scenario, they are returned less often, thus avoiding returns. The more comprehensive the information your shop visitors can obtain about a product before purchasing it, the more likely you are to meet their expectations. By integrating product reviews into your online shop, you can reduce your return rate.

User feedback provides opportunities for optimizing the product range

Another advantage of product reviews is that they help you optimize your product range. Feedback from shoppers tells you which items you should keep in your range and how you could potentially expand it. Product reviews also ensure that product pages are constantly revitalized. The combination of static product descriptions and dynamic user content gives your customers the opportunity to find out everything they need to know about the product they want. In addition, Google ads with a high number of review stars bring more traffic to your shop.

More information about advice in the online shop via the AI Shopping Assistant →