Bazaarvoice: Online reviews overwhelmingly positive

British consumers are more positive than their American counterparts when it comes to leaving reviews on websites, according to Bazaarvoice’s recent analysis of over 34,000 across multiple retail categories.

by Helen Leggatt

bazaarvoice%20logo.gif Results of Bazaarvoice’s recent analysis of online product reviews and ratings show that British consumers are more positive than Americans. Eighty-eight percent of British consumers gave ratings of 4 or 5 stars out of 5, accompanied by a positive review, compared with 81% of Americans.

Overall, consumers have embraced online reviews and despite early reservations have found that not many consumers go online to bad-mouth products. Bazaarvoice also discovered that reviews and ratings kept consumers on the website longer as well as increasing the number of products viewed.

Websites that have already implemented review and rating capabilities have seen significant results. For instance, jewelry retailer Zales saw a 38.7% incremental increase in conversion for products with reviews and products with over five reviews saw a 101% incremental increase in conversion.

“UK retailers who capitalize on consumers’ adoption of and demand for these capabilities are seeing measurable benefits,” said Bazaarvoice chief marketing officer Sam Decker. “As we’ve seen in the US, social technologies like ratings and reviews are becoming a competitive ‘must have’ for online retailers who want customers to make a purchase decision on their site.”