Search BizReport
News by Topic
Marketing
- Advertising
- Search Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Loyalty Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Marketing
- Viral Marketing
- Trends & Ideas
- Internet Marketing 101
Beyond Marketing
BizReport : Social Marketing : March 13, 2007
User-generated product reviews increase conversion
User-generated product reviews are being recognized as a powerful tool in converting browsers into buyers.
Around 40 percent of online shoppers are advocates, says Yahoo’s Diane Rinaldo, and they influence purchases two-to-one over non-advocates.
“The brand advocate has emerged as a particularly valuable and trusted source of advice in online communities,” said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice. “More than half of advocates write about their purchases online and have a huge impact on the buying decisions of other shoppers.”
Bazaarvoice claims 77 percent of all customers read user-generated reviews and treat them as a valuable source of research. Of those who shop online more often, and spend over $500 every month, 81 percent consult user-generated product reviews.
Such is the power of word-of-mouth that some companies are giving their website review pages more prominence. After swapping their usual landing page for its user-generated review page, specifically for visitors coming from search, CompUSA saw conversion rates rise 60 percent and individual spend rising 50 percent. About one-quarter of the 80,000 products on CompUSA have been reviewed.
"Reviews are critical [to online success]," said Bryan Eisenberg, co-founder of Future Now, a New York-based e-commerce consultancy. "Most sites do a pretty poor job of giving enough information to the customer to make a purchase. Less and less people are trusting organizations for their product information -- the BS levels are a little higher."
Tags: advocates, Bazaarvoice, conversion rates, product reviews, user-generated, Yahoo
Tweet
Subscribe to BizReport
Please enter your e-mail here:
-
Luke Errington
Latest Headlines
- Top 3 tips for email success in 2021
- Report: Streaming services push media spending surge
- Experts predict life in 2025 will be more tech driven
- Look for virtual events, social commerce to stick post-pandemic
- Studies ID risks, impact of remote work
- What are the differences between social media platforms?
- Expert: How Covid-19 will impact merchants in 2021
- Expert: How a newsletter could change your business