How to gather product reviews for a store? Is it important?

You run an online store. Customers come to your platform, browse products, and sometimes make a purchase. However, if you calculate the cost of acquiring a buyer correctly, your business doesn't satisfy you. You feel like you can do more.

You try to locate the bottleneck. You optimize descriptions, invest in SEO, improve graphics. Nothing changes. But do you take into account product reviews? Do you have them? Maybe you're still delaying the option to add comments because you're afraid of criticism?

Do product reviews affect sales?

Statistics have the characteristic that each study gives different results. So it's difficult to give a clear answer to the question of how many people check product ratings before making a purchase. Various sources indicate a range between 95 and 97%. Just tell me if you need an exact number or if you're satisfied with the awareness that we're talking about almost every potential customer.

What do people do when they don't see reviews? They look for another way to check the product and your store. Modern consumers don't trust advertising and salespeople. They prefer to listen to other people who have been in their situation before, made a purchase, and are satisfied.

Where will these searches lead users? To other stores. Especially those that invest their time in gathering reviews. Then you're left out. Without money. Wasting the cost of acquiring a customer.

When to ask a customer for a review in an online store?

This situation doesn't have to last forever. You just need to finally come out of the cave into the daylight and allow customers to express their own opinions. The basic method of gathering product reviews is sending an email after a purchase asking for a review. A slightly more professional approach is the so-called satisfaction survey, in which you ask a few questions about the quality of service and the product itself.

However, you will gain the most information from spontaneous, open statements. How to get as many of them as possible? Just make it as easy as possible for people who buy from you. If you place a review collection widget on your platform, you will show that your store has nothing to hide and is worthy of customers' trust.

Creating a form for gathering product reviews

Where to start? Start by creating a simple form. Log in to the Rating Captain platform. Connect your website to it, following the step-by-step instructions. After literally 20 seconds, you're in the main menu. And on the left side, you see a very interesting panel.

Select "widgets" and "review form". Then enter your own text in the field inviting to leave a recommendation. You can also change the font and widget color to match your brand's visual identity. Save it. Now you just need to insert the prepared widget on your website by copying the code and placing it in the appropriate tag according to the displayed instruction.

How to make it even easier to gather reviews from users?

In addition to a clear invitation to leave a review, you can take two more actions. On the homepage, you can include a simple icon that will redirect users to verified reviews from your customers. It will also allow buyers to leave their own reviews.

The last method is to add a carousel or tiles with reviews on the website. This way, the reviews will be most visible. It's definitely worth using this option if you have recommendations that you want to show off.

What is the main benefit of taking these recommended actions? You will make a few clicks, and the process of gathering product reviews will be largely automated. In addition, your new tool will perform semantic analysis of the reviews and suggest what to focus on to increase customer satisfaction.