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The Power of Customer Reviews [Infographic]

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Thanks to technological innovation and behemoths like Amazon leading the charge when it comes to customer experience, it’s now easier than ever for shoppers to turn their backs on you when they’re not happy or satisfied and to share their negative experiences online.

As a result, today’s online consumer is increasingly vocal and unforgiving – but also much more reliant on the feedback of other shoppers to support their decision making.

During a recent research project with Trustpilot, we found that negative reviews are having a discernible impact on merchants and brands. If this is also the case for your business, then take a look at our infographic below, which shines a light on the five things you need to know about this growing review culture…

Key points to remember:

  1. Today’s online consumer is vocal and unforgiving.
    • Over three-quarters of shoppers are likely to leave a negative review following a bad experience
    • Almost half of online consumers have posted a negative review after shopping with a retailer
  2. Social proof is growing in importance to online shoppers.
    • 92% of shoppers check star ratings before making an online purchase
    • 95% of all shoppers read online reviews before buying
    • The minimum star rating consumers will accept when shopping online is 3.5
    • …BUT! Just 15% of retail brands have a five-star rating across popular online consumer review websites
  3. The impact of negative reviews on online retailers is worsening.
    • 21% of retailers admit that they have been affected by a poor online review in the past year
    • 29% of retailers now see the situation as one that is worsening
    • On average, retailers spend $10,000 a year dealing with negative reviews
  4. Failing to address the link between operations and feedback could be disastrous.
    • 77% of 1-3 star reviews are directly related to issues shoppers have after they click “buy”, such as problems with customer service, delivery and returns
    • Yet – a whopping 87% of retailers have still not invested in technology or solutions to help close the operational gaps that drive poor ratings and reviews
  5. The power of positivity can benefit the bottom line.
    • 75% of shoppers agree that they would spend more with a merchant that has excellent reviews or high star ratings. In fact…
    • The difference in revenue between a three-star and a five-star rating can be as high as 33%!

Get more key insights like this in our full report:

Rise of the Review Culture