Online Retailers Giving Consumers a Voice with User Reviews

Word-of-mouth communication about one’s experiences with companies and brands has been around as long as companies and brands have been around. Now, word-of-mouth meets Web 2.0 as more companies are giving customers a voice to rate products on their web sites. According to a survey sponsored by Internet Retailer, retailers’ number one spending priority in the coming months is to add user reviews to their web sites. Interestingly, it is the top priority of all three types of retailers surveyed: store based firms, web based firms, and catalog firms.

User reviews, coupled with the number two priority of integrating blogs or forums to web sites, shows that retailers want to engage their customers in meaningful exchanges of communication. The days of marketers “talking down” to their customers are history! Greater flow of communication from retailer to customer and customer to customer will add value to the shopping experience and serve as a means for nurturing relationships.

Link: eMarketer – “Web Stores Score with Customer Ratings”

Author: Don Roy

Don Roy is a marketing educator, blogger, and author. His thirty-year career began with roles in retail management, B2B sales, and franchise management. For the past 22 years, Don has shared his passion for marketing as a marketing professor. Don's teaching and research interests include brands, sports marketing, and social media marketing. Don has authored over 20 articles in scholarly journals, co-authored two textbooks, and self-published three books on personal branding. Don is an avid hockey fan and enjoys running. He and his wife, Sara, have three sons.

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