A few days ago, the German marketplace Zalando decided to remove reviews from its product pages. In response to the astonishment and controversy generated in the sector, they were quick to explain the reasons that led them to take this decision. As reported by Ecommece news (a publication we shared yesterday on our Linkedin page), the reason is that only 3% of customers leave a written review.
Could Zalando be the forerunner of the abolition of reviews?
Marketplaces work every day to manage reviews, not only to ensure that comments comply with ethical and legal standards, but also to verify that they are written by people and not robots. This validation allows the marketplace to increase transparency and trust in the channel and gives brands and manufacturers – as long as they have an advanced monitoring service like SingularPrice – very valuable information. A bad review wastes the sale of a product and knowing the evolution of the ratings of each product in each category is one of the key elements to optimise the sales strategy.
Why are reviews on marketplaces so important?
- Prescription work: Numerous studies show that more than 90% of shoppers consult reviews before making an online purchase. Consumers are looking for relevant information about quality, service and other customers’ experiences with a particular product or seller.
- Improved competitiveness: Reviews motivate everyone in the channel to compete on quality and service. Brands and manufacturers know that getting good reviews is essential to attracting more customers and improving their image and reputation.
- Filter products and sellers: Ratings are a filter for products and sellers based on their ratings and reviews. It saves time for shoppers by allowing them to quickly identify options that have a good reputation.
- Feedback for sellers: Feedback provides direct feedback to sellers and helps them identify areas for improvement. This allows them to adjust their products or services to better meet customer needs. At SingularPrice, we set up specific alerts to report any daily changes in the ratings of tracked products.
- Immediate channel conflict resolution: When a customer has a negative experience, reviews can have a direct impact on sales. This can motivate sellers to address problems and resolve disputes effectively to avoid negative reviews. But this is only possible if you have up-to-date information on a daily basis.
- Influence ranking: On many marketplaces, search algorithms allow positive reviews to influence the ranking of a product or seller in searches and recommendations. Top-rated products and sellers often get more visibility, which translates into more sales.
In short, reviews are essential in marketplaces because they provide important information to buyers, build trust, encourage competition and improvement, and allow sellers and merchants to be accountable for the quality and service they provide.
But we insist that this is only possible if you have a specialised data tracking service like SingularPrice. Request a DEMO now.
