Most online shoppers use reviews to learn more about a business or product and whether it’s worth it to shop or skip.
It would be hard to find an online store with more reviews than Amazon, considering the e-commerce giant generates billions of dollars in revenue and has thousands of reviews on different products.
If you like shopping on Amazon, you may be wondering whether Amazon reviews affect sales. The same thing crossed my mind, so I started researching, and here’s what came up!
Do Amazon Reviews Affect Sales?
Amazon reviews affect sales because the items with good reviews and high ratings appear first in searches, while items without a lot of negative feedback will appear lower. Studies show that positive reviews can increase sales by 20%, which is why both Amazon and its millions of third-party Marketplace sellers strive for satisfied customer reviews.
If you want to know more about Amazon reviews and how they influence sales and shopping habits, check out the rest of our guide!
How Do Amazon Ratings Work?
If you’re an avid Amazon shopper, chances are you’ve seen your fair share of Amazon reviews and ratings.
Even if you don’t make a habit of reading reviews, you should still see five yellow stars next to every Amazon listing, which appear solid to reflect the item’s rating out of five.
Amazon ratings use a unique algorithm to compute a product’s average star rating. This takes into account the authenticity of the feedback, such as verified purchase status and how recent the rating is.
The average number of stars out of five is listed for all products on Amazon unless they are brand new and have no ratings yet.
Ratings and reviews go hand-in-hand by highlighting customer experiences and the things people like and don’t like about certain products.
While a 5-star rating is the best of the best, many quality products receive 3 and 4-star ratings too. All of this information can influence the final purchasing decision.
Think of it this way: if you were shopping on Amazon for a particular item, say a new pair of shoes, and there were two similar options but with different average ratings, you’re probably more likely to choose the higher-rated shoes.
People love peace of mind when shopping, especially online, and ratings give them the push in the right direction that other shoppers like the product, too.
How Do Amazon Reviews Impact Sales?
It’s no wonder why Amazon sellers care a lot about reviews and ratings, as they influence consumer opinion and can either boost business or hurt sales, depending on what the reviews and ratings are.
Amazon reviews impact sales by highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of items, which may make or break the sale for many shoppers who are on the fence.
However, Amazon reviews go beyond just giving customers a better idea of what to buy and what to skip.
With thousands of items available in every Amazon category, from clothing to garden, toys to automotive, only one item can be at the top of every page.
When you look for a certain item on Amazon using the search bar, the results that come up will be the most highly-rated products with mainly positive reviews.
Amazon uses a special algorithm to keep track of product reviews and ratings, sending the most popular and well-received products to the top of the list.
If a seller puts a new product on Amazon that has no ratings, it will appear below the best-selling items for that category.
It’s only fair that the most popular items get a prominent spot on Amazon pages, which is why reviews can affect sales.
The better the reviews and ratings, the more likely a product is to gain traction and greater visibility on Amazon’s huge shopping platform.
For the most part, the higher the product ranking, the higher the sales. As products gain more positive reviews and more sales, they continue to climb the ladder and should soon come up for more shoppers on Amazon.
Good reviews and ratings are the best way for Amazon merchants to make an impact and maximize sales potential.
Can Sellers Change Reviews On Amazon?
It’s really easy for shoppers to leave an Amazon review, which is both a positive and a negative for Amazon sellers who cannot change or remove reviews directly.
Like anything in life, it’s impossible to please everybody, and Amazon merchants need to be prepared for the fact that some people will complain about very small details or leave a poor rating even if it doesn’t seem warranted.
On the other hand, customers deserve to get what they pay for, and sometimes, an item may not live up to expectations.
That’s why Amazon sits in the middle, giving shoppers the chance to leave a verified review for items they purchased through Amazon and letting sellers respond to customer feedback in hopes of clearing up any confusion.
While sellers can reply to negative customer feedback and attempt to resolve the issue, they cannot pressure customers to change their feedback or offer illegal incentives for a better review.
As outlined in Amazon’s Seller Central policies, sellers must follow certain guidelines when communicating with shoppers about negative feedback and reviews.
At the end of the day, Amazon’s policy on reviews means shoppers have the ability to influence sales through the power of their reviews and ratings.
The more good things shoppers say about Amazon products, the greater visibility these listings will get on category and search result pages.
Additionally, the more negative feedback listings receive, the more likely they are to slip down Amazon’s site rankings.
What Are Amazon Reviews?
The internet has become the top spot for customer reviews in general, with all sorts of services and products reviewed by real users.
Amazon is no exception, as the company remains committed to transparency and encourages customers to be open and honest about the products they’ve purchased.
Amazon reviews are located on product listing pages, and with over 12 million items for sale, you can only imagine how many reviews Amazon has altogether.
If you browse for some of your favorite items on Amazon.com or the Amazon app, you may see dozens, if not hundreds, of customer reviews.
The review process involves leaving written comments and selecting a star rating level, which influences sales by giving prospective customers insights into the pros and cons of buying each product.
How To Leave An Amazon Review?
Leaving an Amazon review is simple, as you can rate both items you purchased that are saved in your orders and other listings you find on Amazon.
To review an item you’ve previously ordered, just go to your orders and click on the option to write a product review.
Amazon will prompt you to provide an overall rating out of five stars, plus secondary rating features like sturdiness, durability, and how giftable it is.
Next, you can add a headline that highlights the most important thought you have about the product.
This could be something like “worthwhile investment – would buy again” or “not worth the price”. It just depends on your personal experience, and you should aim to be as honest as possible.
To finish off the review, you can include a photo or video if you want, as well as a written portion outlining your experience with the product.
This can be as short or as long as you like, but keep in mind the more detail you provide, the more legitimate your review seems, both to Amazon and other shoppers.
Something else to keep in mind is that Amazon lets you review items you haven’t actually bought.
If you scroll down to the reviews on any product listing page, you can click leave a review and follow the same process as if you had actually bought the item.
Just remember, whatever you write has the ability to influence other shopper’s decisions.
To know more about Amazon, you might also be interested in reading up on whether or not Amazon reviews are fake, how many orders do Amazon gets every minute, and if Amazon is safe to shop on.