TulipTools Internet Business Owners and Online Sellers Community

Quote:A new ratings and review process implemented by CompUSA on provider Bazaarvoice’s platform helps boost conversion rates by 50% and order size by 20% among customers who find the reviews on search engines.

Under the process, the product reviews customers share at CompUSA.com also provide insights that can inform marketing, merchandising and product development.

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=17462

http://austin.bizjournals.com/austin/sto...ily23.html
http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=17286

I found those articles on Bazaarvoice.

Probably a little tooooo pricey for smaller stores. 

The 10 benefits of ratings and reviews they list on their web site are:

Site conversion
New customers
Return traffic
Reduced returns
Differentiation
Customer satisfaction and loyalty
Multi-channel improvements
Supply chain improvements
Compelling marketing content
Authentic market research
http://bazaarvoice.com/solution.html

For stores with a smaller budget, the Yahoo Developer Network just released free ratings and review modules that can be integrated into your site...but you'd either have to have some programming knowledge or hire a programmer.
http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...645.0.html

PhotoPost also sells a ratings and review script for $99, but its a stand alone script.
http://www.reviewpost.com/indexpro.html

Quote:Differentiation

Not really.  Product reviews are becoming the norm I think.

Update: Overstock is switching from inhouse ratings and reviews to  Bazaarvoice's service

Quote: Overstock.com is replacing its internal customer ratings and review application with a third-party program from Bazaarvoice Inc....

The new technology will enable Overstock to more efficiently monitor its customer reviews and rankings using a hosted application. Customers now can review and see their comments posted on both products and specific product characteristics...The technology also helps Overstock produce and measure more precise customer ratings and optimize customer comments for search engine rankings.

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=18247