In the past we have asked whether Customer Reviews Increase Sales and the importance of User Generated Content Important in Buying Decision.
A recent story about Petco said that products reviewed by customers on the site had a return rate that is 20% lower, on average, than for products without reviews. And the return rate continues to decline as a product gains more reviews, with return rates on products having 50 or more reviews 65% lower, on average, than for products with no reviews.
“Ratings & Reviews is one of the online tools that most influence purchase decisions,” says John Lazarchic, Petco vice president of e-commerce. “This new data is another sign that Ratings & Reviews provides customers with the information they need to make the right purchasing decision.”
Industry averages show that merchants typically spend $6 to $10 to process a returned product in addition to the lost sales revenue. In addition, Petco reported that top-rated products featuring four- and five-star ratings delivered 49% higher conversion than other items; and that site searchers who sort by product ratings spend 41% more than searchers using other sorting methods.
Have you added customer reviews to your product site yet?
