Customers reviews key to gaining consumer trust

A third of consumers (33.8%) rank customers reviews as the most important feature of an online store when it comes to earning their trust. And, found a Gartner study released late last year, by 2020, it is businesses that consumers deem “digitally trustworthy” that will increase profit online.

The research also reveals that almost 90% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation. Furthermore, as well as instilling trust, customer reviews can help improve an online store’s SEO efforts by boosting long-tail keyword traffic and social conversation.

“This research, combined with our own survey, suggests that businesses need to consider how potential customers view their online stores in terms of trustworthiness in order to effect more profit and attract and retain customers,” says GetApp.

This is an ambition which more than half of small businesses said was their number one priority, GetApp reported in late 2016.