Ecommerce: using reviews to drive conversions...safely

[mandy]

Product reviews are littered with the advice of mavens who speak with the authority and vast product experience of your typical focus group alpha. Then, there are the people who ask the questions, "Has anyone tried this product?," effectively inviting mavens' commentary.

The general consumer loves that the mavens are out there to guide him. This plays out in how ecommerce sites use consumer feedback. In a report produced by e-consultancy Bazaarvoice and reported by eMarketer, 28 percent of the online sellers surveyed were using customer ratings and reviews, and approximately 80 percent thought a major benefit of such reviews was to increase conversions. Seventy-three percent felt that it helped them retain customers and that it encouraged loyalty.

In a continually deepening feature-rich internet landscape, website managers are doing everything they can to encourage store loyalty, even at the risk of inciting criticism of their wares. But, this criticism brings with it a unique challenge simply because the online mavens are truly everyday consumers rather than professional reviewers or journalists...

full article: http://imediaconnection.com/content/16351.asp