A Complete Guide to eCommerce Reviews Management

Picture this: you have amazing products in your online store. Killer customer support. Fast shipping times. 

But none of this matters if your customers aren't talking about how much they love your products. Time for the hard truth—93% of shoppers say online reviews do impact their purchasing decisions.

If you've already got the reviews to show for your hard work, this will work in your favor. But if each product in your inventory only has a couple of star ratings, you may be missing out on a hell of a lot of sales. 

That's why we've created this guide: to show you why review management is so important, how to get more reviews, and what tools you should be using to do it. 

Let's dive in 👇

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What is eCommerce reviews management?

eCommerce reviews management is when a store monitors, responds to and analyzes customer feedback to improve customer experience. 

In a nutshell, eCommerce reviews management involves tracking reviews on different platforms, identifying trends with feedback, responding to negative reviews, and celebrating the positive ones. This process can boost customer satisfaction, build trust in your brand and most importantly—drive sales. 

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What is the importance of review management in eCommerce?

Let's cut to the chase. 

Reviews are arguably the most important driving factor in a customer's buying decision and can impact if they stick with you—or shop with a competitor. It's not rocket science. Positive reviews can help build trust and credibility, while negative reviews can hurt your brand's reputation. Don't take our word for it, let's look at the stats: 

• 88% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
• Consumers spend around 31% more on products when a store has excellent reviews to back them up
• But negative reviews mean a whopping 92% of customers are less likely to buy something

How you handle these reviews is what matters. Do it right, and eCommerce reviews can help improve your products, processes, and customer experience.

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How do eCommerce reviews work?

In simple terms, eCommerce reviews are customer feedback that is left on a website for a product or service they have used. 

These reviews come in various forms such as ratings, comments, or testimonials. They help to build trust with potential customers, provide valuable insight to the business, and can even impact a website's search engine ranking.

Effectively managing these eCommerce reviews starts with controlling your feedback loop.

When a customer purchases a product, you should give them a way to leave a review on your website or a third-party platform. Reviews typically include a star rating, written feedback, and sometimes photos or videos. 

It should also be a quick turnaround. Don't ask customers for a 500-word report on what they love and what they disliked about their buying experience or products. Make it easy for them to increase the number of reviews submitted to your store. 

Once the reviews are up, other customers can read them before they make a decision to head to the checkout. You get the score, right?

Good products + great buying experience = more customers and sales! 

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How are eCommerce reviews different?

eCommerce reviews come in many shapes and sizes.

Some just have a simple rating from one to five stars to give customers a quick snapshot if it's a good product, while others may have a 10-minute video. What makes eCommerce reviews different is that they are usually a make or break for your store—just one negative review can drive away around 22% of customers. 😲

When it comes to eCommerce reviews, there are a few key elements that you should be looking at: 

• The overall rating of a product
• The number of reviews for the product or service
• The sentiment of the reviews (on average, are the reviews positive or negative?)
• Any specific feedback provided by customers 

If you analyze all of these elements together, you will get an accurate snapshot of what customers think about your products and where improvements need to be made.

The four main types of eCommerce reviews

1. Product reviews

When it comes to eCommerce reviews, the most common type you'll come across are product reviews. These are written by customers who have purchased a specific product and want to share their experiences with it.

Usually, product reviews focus on pricing, features, and quality. They are crucial for customers who are already quite far down the buying journey and need some reassurance from others who have purchased the same product. Basically, they want some help to make an informed decision and avoid a purchase they'll regret. 

Stone Street Coffee displays simple product reviews under each type of coffee it sells: 

It's not the most in-depth review, but it does give other customers a basic idea of how the product stacks up against its promises. 

2. Brand reviews (support or experience)

Brand reviews are tied to the customer's buying experience with your store. 

Brand reviews are another type of eCommerce review that focuses on the brand rather than the product. These reviews usually summarize the customer's experience with the brand, like customer support, delivery, shipping and returns, and appear on third-party sites. 

Here's what customers on ThingTesting think of beauty brand Experiment: 

3. Photo reviews

These reviews focus on user-generated photos of your products. They offer valuable social proof and help customers get a better idea of what the product looks like in real life.

These reviews provide visual evidence of the product and its quality. Customers can see the product being used in real-life situations, giving them a better idea of what to expect. Photo reviews are also great for brands, providing visual proof of the product's quality and performance. Brands can then use this UGC (user-generated content) within emails, SMS's, and or paid ads to sell more.

Here's an example of a (not-so-great) photo review from a customer on The Ordinary's website: 

The review clearly states the customer loves the product. The packaging? Err, not so much. But this type of photo review can actually really help a brand improve their customer experience (we will talk about learning from negative reviews in a little bit!)

4. Video reviews

Video is the creme-de-la-creme of online reviews as its (arguably) the most engaging form of content. 

Video reviews give other customers an in-depth look at the product, showcase its features and benefits, and put a face to the reviewer (ahem, it proves the review isn't a bot!). These reviews ultimately give other customers a better idea of what to expect when they buy the product.

Just check out this super in-depth review a customer posted on Amazon for an Echo Dot: 

Amazon has verified the purchase of the product, so other customers know the review is legit. And thanks to the detailed review that includes a product unboxing and feature breakdown, it's easier for those on the fence to decide if this particular Echo is right for them. 

Think of an online review management as customer research, except you don’t have to administer interviews and surveys!

And once these reviews start pouring in—it's up to you to manage them to drive repeat customers. Let's take a look at how to do just that 👇

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eCommerce reviews management best practices

Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar stores, eCommerce businesses can't talk face-to-face with their customers. 

Naturally, it's harder to build trust without these interactions. But reviews are one way to talk to your customers directly and do a virtual hi-5 because they love your product, or try and mitigate the damage if they don't. Managing your reviews is all about celebrating your winds with customers—or winning them back. 

Here are three ways to do it 👇

1. Monitor reviews regularly

Every review should be read—no matter how much you've got on your plate. 

Customer reviews are the quickest way to gauge how a specific product is landing with customers, or how well your store is doing in general. Plus, monitoring reviews regularly is the best way to catch any negative feedback early and address it promptly. 

Our advice is to set up alerts to notify you when a new review is posted. This will help you to identify trends, address issues quickly, and improve customer satisfaction. 

You can use tools like Google Alerts to catch any third-party reviews, or platforms like Hootsuite and Mention to monitor social media mentions in real-time.

2. Address fake reviews (sooner rather than later)

The bots and the haters are always out to get successful online vendors. 

It's the harsh reality of eCommerce. Fake and negative reviews happen, and they can (really) harm your store's reputation. 

The best way to manage this is to monitor your reviews and flag anything that looks suspicious for investigation. For example, platforms like Amazon, Yelp, or Google have specialized teams that handle fake reviews and can get them taken down to prevent them from spreading. 

You should also do some damage control on your side—respond to the review ASAP and explain why it's been flagged. 🚩

3. Respond to customer reviews

This one is going to sting—you should respond to every negative review customer leaves. 

It can help you address any issues and turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal one. On the back of this, you can build customer relationships and encourage them to leave more reviews in the future or give your brand another shot. Make sure you respond promptly, address any issues raised, and thank customers for their feedback. 

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3 Best apps to manage eCommerce product reviews

Juggling reviews can be a daunting task, but there are several apps on the market that can help you manage and even automate the process. 

Here are our top 3 picks 👇

1. Sendlane 

If you're looking for a comprehensive eCommerce marketing automation platform with reviews management capabilities—Sendlane is right up your alley. 

Yep. We're biased. But we know our unified marketing automation platform (packed with everything you need, including automated email marketing, SMS marketing, pop-ups and out-of-the-box templates) is the best place to manage customer reviews. Thanks to our reviews management system, you can collect feedback, leverage your best reviews in emails and reply to customers all under one roof. 

Oh, did we mention Sendlane also has a bunch of customizable widgets to display reviews on your product pages? It doesn't get much easier than that! 😉

Sendlane analytics makes it easy to track and monitor every customer review

Sendlane's best features for eCommerce review product management

✔️ Collect and display reviews on your eCommerce store

✔️ Send automated emails to customer post-purchase to encourage them to leave a review

✔️ Google Shopping XML feed to increase click through rates

💰 Pricing 

The Sendlane reviews product is 100% free for email and SMS users no matter what plan you sign up for! You can view our transparent pricing right here.

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2. Yotpo

If you are on the hunt for a basic review management platform, check out Yotpo. 

With this tool, you collect, curate, and display customer reviews for individual products on your eCommerce store. Not only that, but you can automate the review collection process and send review requests to customers using automated email campaigns. And if customers review products on other platforms like Amazon, you can manually import them to your site to boost ratings!

Yotpo's best features for eCommerce review product management

✔️ Automatically generate coupons to increase feedback

✔️ Social media share links to encourage reviews

💰 Pricing 

Basic plans start at $15/month. 

3. Reviews.io

The final tool on our list is Reviews.io—another solid choice to collect and display reviews on your eCommerce site. 

It comes with a lot of cool features, including video review prompts, SMS reviews and competitor analysis. It also plugs into all the major eCommerce platforms, including BigCommerce, Shopify, and Magento. But the downside to Reviews.io is the steep price tag for what is just a review platform, and it will be out of reach for a lot of merchants. 

Review.io's best features for eCommerce review product management

✔️ Turn customer reviews into social media assets for marketing

✔️ Collect detailed feedback with customer surveys

💰 Pricing 

Basic plans start at $89/month for 500 reviews. 

Now you know why eCommerce review management is so important and what tools you need to do it, let's start building out a strategy 👇

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How to build an eCommerce reviews management strategy (step-by-step)

Online reviews are important for any eCommerce business—but collecting them can be daunting. 

The trick is to step back and uncomplicate the process. All you really need is a goal, a way to respond to customers and to take every review on board. Here are some simple steps to get started 👇

Step 1: Set review goals

Reviews can help you improve your product ratings, increase brand loyalty and attract new customers. 

The first question you need to ask is… What do you want to achieve with customer reviews? More sales, or a better relationship with customers?

Think long and hard about what you actually want to collect reviews for. If it's just to pump up the star ratings on your product pages, it won't take a ton of effort. But those video reviews require a lot more leg work and you will have to convince your customers why it's worth their while. 

Once you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, you can develop a plan to get there.

Step 2: Encourage customers to leave reviews (and reward them for doing it!)

The more reviews you have, the better it is for your brand—and your bottom line. 

Hey, don't take our word for it. ​​According to a study by Psychological Science, if consumers have to make a choice between two products with similar ratings—they usually buy the one with more reviews.

Sending follow-up emails and SMS are the go-to for growing online reviews. eCommerce stores love this method because they can automate it emails after they make a purchase or offering incentives such as discounts or free shipping in return for feedback to juice up numbers. Make it easy for customers to leave reviews by providing clear instructions and multiple review platforms.

Step 3: Monitor, respond, repeat

Put yourselves in your customers shoes: you take the time out of your day to provide constructive criticism to a brand you love… and they don't reply? 😥

It's the fastest way to lose trust in your brand. Make sure you respond to positive and negative reviews to show customers that you care about their experience and are willing to make things right. Always respond to positive reviews by thanking your customers. Address any issues mentioned in negative reviews to show you are proactive about addressing any problems and keep them updated when any changes are made. 

Rinse and repeat for happy customers. 

Step 4. Learn and improve from every review

Every customer review is a gold mine. Yep, even the negative ones. 

Use the feedback you receive from customers to make changes and improvements to your products, website, or customer service. Analyze your reviews regularly and look for patterns and common issues: are a lot of customers talking about delayed shipping? Or product quality not matching up to expectations? 

This isn't the end of the world—think of it as areas for improvement. But just make sure you let the customer know you hear them and you're working hard to get things right. 

On the flip side, it's always a great morale booster to share positive feedback with your team. Hearing how much people love your products hits differently when it comes straight from the source 🥳

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3 Tips to get more product reviews for your eCommerce store

Reviews can increase the trustworthiness of your store, encourage more sales, and improve your search engine rankings. But getting more reviews isn't easy, so here are some hacks to help out 👇

1. Follow up with every customer

Each time a customer buys something, it's an opportunity to collect a review.  

Follow up with them over email to see if they are loving your product and ask them to leave a review. There are some must do's at this step: 

• Personalize the email with the customer's name and the product they purchased
• Include a link to the product page of the item they purchased 
• Add a clear call-to-action button that will take them straight to the review site

A tool like Sendlane will auto populate dynamic product details for you, so you can collect reviews on autopilot. Bonus points if you add a reminder in the email that leaving a review will help other customers make informed decisions. Every likes to feel like they are helping someone else out… and hey, it can even push them to give some feedback! 

2. Offer an incentive 

A coupon or discount code to use on a future purchase is probably the quickest way to convince your customer to leave a review. 

If they love your product, this tactic is a win-win. They will score savings at checkout, and you will earn some social cred through their review. You should also think outside the box here—offer up free shipping or even a chance to win a prize to encourage customers to leave a review. 

3. Make it easy to leave a review

Finally—and this one is super important—make sure it's easy for customers to leave reviews. 

Include a clear call-to-action button, link to your reviews page, and include a star rating system for first-time buyers so it's not a big ask. You can even go the extra mile and: 

• Give customers some guidance: Customers might not know what to say in their review. Add a link to some guidelines that may include specific questions to answer, language to use, or even what parts of the product you want feedback on
• Do the hard work for them: Leaving a review shouldn't be stressful. Place a review button on the product page, or embed the review comment box directly into your follow-up email. 

Whatever you do, remember customers shouldn't have to jump through hoops to leave a review. 

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Ready to get more reviews for your eCommerce store?

Customer reviews are a lifeline to any online store. But as quickly as positive reviews can build a store up, negative reviews can tear it down. 

The one factor that will decide if you sink or swim is how you manage eCommerce reviews. Build out a foolproof review management strategy so you can stay on top of feedback, respond to every customer, and learn from your mistakes. 

You should also keep a close eye on review patterns and never shy away from the occasional negative review. Embrace it as an opportunity to learn and grow—trust us, your customers will notice!

Sendlane can help you collect and manage customer reviews under one roof. Use Want to take it for a test drive? Sign up today for a free 60-day trial—no credit card required! 

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eCommerce review management FAQs