Chasing Quantity, Ignoring Quality in Reviews

Let’s face it—most of us skim through reviews before making an online purchase, trying to decide – should we or shouldn’t we? Yet a whopping 95% of us don’t even make it to the 3rd page. To make a real “I-want-to-buy-this” impact, brands need to encourage shoppers to add context that will make their reviews rich and relevant. This builds trust and boosts conversion rates.

And the cherry on top? Authentic reviews help brands gain meaningful insights regarding their client’s needs and wants, identify gaps in their products and, well, make more informed business decisions!

Here’s the kicker: 80% of consumers prefer authentic, shopper-generated visuals over polished branded content. Plus, there’s a 137% higher chance of purchase after seeing customer photos. These stats highlight just how crucial visual and detailed reviews are. When customers see real photos and read in-depth reviews, they’re more likely to trust the product and hit that “buy” button. But how do we make this happen? Glad you asked! :)

Solution 1: Enrich Reviews with Relevant Topics

Think of yourself: if someone starts talking about topics that don’t interest you, you’re likely to zone out or switch subjects. The same goes for reviews—they need to be relevant to keep your shoppers engaged.

To shake things up and make reviews more useful, try adding relevant topics. Yotpo’s Smart Prompts is a game-changer for this. It analyzes past reviews, sentiment, and on-site data to surface new, engaging topics, keeping your reviews fresh, detailed, and on point.

Just a heads-up: Shoppers will only see these suggested topics if there are at least 10 past reviews for a product. This might vary depending on how rich and detailed those reviews are.

See it in action with iFLY: See How a Smart Brand Uses Smart Prompts to Elevate Reviews

iFLY understands their customers and products better through the reviews collected via Yotpo Smart Prompts. They saw a 10% increase in review responses when using Smart Prompts.

Solution 2: Use the Power of UGC

You know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words of review! 😊 And to back the saying with some stats – the conversion rate of shoppers who see UGC on a brand’s site is 161% higher than those who do not. Yes, you’ve read it right! 

Adding customer-generated photos and videos from reviews, Instagram, and on-site uploads is a fantastic way to create that authentic feel. Less talk, more trust! Want to take it up a notch? Display those photos and photos front and center on your site. For extra impact, show them side by side with relevant reviews so customers can see the visual proof alongside the text.

We’ve made it super easy for you: curate user-generated visuals from reviews, Instagram, and on-site uploads, and showcase them across your site and product pages with just a few clicks. You might wonder if all those great-looking pics you are about to upload will affect your website speed (we are sharp listeners and heard this one before). No worries, with Yotpo’s Visual UGC, merchants are guaranteed that their website speed will not be affected.

See it in action with PrincessPolly

Princess Polly has successfully used Yotpo VUGC, resulting in a 498% increase in on-site conversions and a 112% increase in Average Order Value (AOV).