According to research from Shop.org and MarketingSherpa, usage of ratings and reviews has nearly doubled in the US over the last year. US shoppers consider ratings and reviews to be the most useful eCommerce site feature (44 percent). Product comparison (15 percent), product navigation (12 percent), and privacy information (11 percent) followed in the distance.
The benchmark survey also polled UK consumers on their attitudes toward ratings and reviews. Customer ratings and reviews were important for over 50 percent of online shoppers in the UK. In contrast to US shoppers, privacy and security information took center stage when making a purchase with over one-third of UK shoppers rating this as the most important site feature. These findings reflect the relatively low number of UK sites offering a ratings and reviews facility compared to those in the US.
"Research shows that UK consumers actively seek out reviews, and the dependence on customer-created content will increase as UK retailers adopt this strategy," said Sam Decker, Chief Marketing Officer at Bazaarvoice. "We believe that this change is actively taking place today in the UK market. There is a huge opportunity for UK retailers to increase brand trust and visibility – and sales – through the strategic use of reviews."
Polling for the report was conducted via the Vizu Answers online market research network from May 16, 2007 to June 6, 2007. Multiple votes were restricted, no artificial incentives were employed and a geographic audit was performed to ensure unbiased and valid results.
