Survey: The Ever-Growing Power of Reviews (2023 Edition) - PowerReviews (2024)

This research is an update of our 2021 report.

Survey at a Glance:

The Ever-Growing Power of Reviews (2023 edition) is based on a survey of 8,153 U.S. consumers fielded in April 2023. Here’s a high level look at our key findings.

Online Browsing and Buying Has Become the Norm

Consumers Choose Websites Based on the Availability of Reviews

While Many Factors Influence Purchase Behavior, Ratings and Reviews Top the List

Reviews are Table Stakes

Reviews are Particularly Important for High Priced and Unknown Products

There was a time when consumers did nearly all of their shopping within the four walls of a brick-and-mortar store. In those days, marketing tactics like TV commercials and magazine ads had a big influence on consumers’ purchase decisions. As such, brands and retailers invested heavily in those areas.

Those days are long gone.

Today, consumers spend a large (and growing) portion of their budgets online – a trend that accelerated at the onset of the pandemic. And when consumers do opt to shop online, they face nearly endless options across any product or service category.

Many brands and retailers continue to invest significantly in traditional marketing channels in an effort to reach shoppers. But these tactics don’t hold the power they once did.

Consumers are no longer content to be talked “at” by brands. It’s feedback from peers – rather than traditional marketing tactics – that impacts their behavior and decisions most.

Brands and retailers must adapt their strategies accordingly. But how?

The first step is to understand how modern consumers navigate the online shopping journey – and the tools and information they turn to when making purchase decisions.

Recently, we surveyed more than 9,000 consumers in the U.S. to understand:

• Where they’re shopping
• What factors influence them throughout the purchase journey
• The role ratings and reviews play every step of the way

In this report, we’ll share our key findings as well as recommendations for brands and retailers looking to optimize their acquisition strategies and increase ROI.

Generations

Average Overall Monthly Online Spend

$521.23

Today, the vast majority of consumers – 99.5% – turn to the internet at least sometimes to research purchases. Nearly 87% do so regularly or always.

Of note, younger shoppers tend to conduct online research before making a purchase more frequently than their older counterparts. 55.75% of Gen Z’ers always do so, compared to 34% of Boomers.

When making a purchase, how often do you do research online?

There are nearly endless options available to online shoppers. Where do they most commonly start the purchase journey?

Amazon tops the list, with half of consumers indicating it’s where they search first when shopping online. Next up is Google (31.5%), followed by brand or retailer websites (14%).

There are some notable differences based on generation. For example, Gen Z’ers are the group least likely to start their search on Amazon. On the other hand, these young shoppers are more likely than older shoppers to start their search on social media.

Where do you search FIRST when shopping online?

We know Amazon is the most common place to start a product search. But consumers aren’t solely using Amazon to research and purchase products.

Instead, they’re turning to many different websites to browse and buy. And oftentimes, they’re doing so quite frequently.

A couple of trends are clear. The first is that consumers leverage Google more frequently than any other channel. Also of note, younger shoppers use all four channels more often than older consumers.

Percentage of consumers who use each of the following channels for shopping purposes at least monthly

Percentage of consumers who use each of the following channels for shopping purposes at least monthly

Amazon

Google

Retailer Websites

Brand Websites

There’s no doubt many factors impact where consumers choose to shop online. But ratings and reviews are certainly high on the list.

This year, over three-quarters (77%) of shoppers specifically seek out websites with ratings and reviews.

When shopping online, do you specifically seek out websites with reviews?

When shopping online, do you specifically seek out websites with reviews?

We know consumers seek out websites with reviews. But what sites do they most commonly turn to?

Again this year, Amazon (94%) tops the list, followed by retail websites such as Target.com and Walmart.com (91%). Search engines (70%) and brand websites (68%) are also popular destinations for finding and consuming review content.

What websites do you use to read product reviews?

In the best of times, consumers do plenty of research before making a purchase. That’s even more true in times of uncertainty.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers are researching purchases more than before due to the current economic climate. This number is even higher – 78% – among Gen Z shoppers.

We explore information sources shoppers look to when making purchase decisions but first let’s explore the critical factors – at a most basic level – that dictate whether consumers will buy a product or not.

Which of the following impacts whether you decide to purchase a product?

When it comes to deeper research of products, our survey highlighted some key findings. Unsurprisingly, consumers are now more deeply scrutinizing purchases given overriding economic conditions.

With the continual rise of social media and influencer marketing, shoppers are not short on sources to seek information on products they’re considering buying. Again, ratings and reviews come in as the most important resource for consumer product research.

Percentage of consumers scrutinizing or researching purchases more now than previously due to the current economic climate

Consumers consider many factors when weighing purchase decisions. But customer ratings and reviews rise to the top. Nine in 10 consumers indicate this is something they consider when making purchase decisions.

Customer photos and videos and recommendations from friends and family are tied for second place. 73% of consumers consider each of these factors when making purchase decisions.

Which of the following do you CONSIDER when it comes to making purchase decisions?

Percentage of consumers who trust reviews as much as or more than recommendations from friends/family

Portion of consumers who don’t trust a star rating alone as much as they do a star rating accompanied by a written review.

Brand- or retailer- provided ratings and reviews are important. But increasingly, it’s photos and videos from other consumers that impact shoppers’ behavior.

60% of consumers turn to user-generated imagery to learn about products they’ve never purchased before.

There’s tremendous value in seeing a product being used by a real person in real life. It’s no wonder why 77% of consumers trust user-generated imagery when making purchase decisions.

In fact, the presence (or absence) of user-generated visual content can make or break a sale. Over half (53%) of shoppers say that this content impacts whether or not they decide to purchase a product.

Word of mouth has always had a big impact on the purchase journey. That’s still the case. Today, 60% of consumers say that recommendations from their family and friends are a key way they learn about new (or new to them) products.

Furthermore, 79% indicate they trust personal recommendations. However, as mentioned earlier, many consumers trust ratings and reviews as much as – if not more so – than recommendations from family members and friends.

Finally, 59% say a personal recommendation impacts whether they decide to purchase the product in question.

As we explored earlier in this report, Google and other search engines are a common starting point for shoppers. It’s not surprising, then, that 63% of consumers use search engine results as a tool to learn about products they’ve never purchased before.

When making purchase decisions, half (50%) of consumers indicate they trust search results on Google or other search engines. One way to boost that trust is to display star ratings alongside search engine results – which is possible if your site is structured according to Schema.org standards.

To state the obvious, it’s important to invest in marketing the strategies that’ll have the biggest impact. And it’s clear that shoppers value the authenticity of content created by “real-life” users, with trust in this much higher than more obviously brand-curated materials.

That doesn’t mean you should abandon traditional marketing tactics altogether. For one, these techniques serve a different purpose providing value at different stages of the buying journey or funnel.

Given the popularity of user-generated content, however, consider incorporating user-generated content – including ratings, reviews, photos, and video – into your other marketing programs, including email marketing, social media ads, and even print ads. This content can increase shoppers’ trust – and drive more impactful product discovery.

Today, just about all (99.75%) of online shoppers read reviews at least sometimes. 91% do so always or regularly.

Notably, younger consumers tend to read reviews more frequently than their older counterparts.

Percentage of consumers who consult reviews when shopping online

How often do you read product reviews?

How often do you read product reviews?

Reviews aren’t just important for consumers. They’re essential. Nearly all (98%) shoppers indicate they’re an essential resource when making purchase decisions.

Consumers of all ages feel reviews are essential. However, younger consumers are more likely to strongly agree with this sentiment.

Portion of consumers who agree that reviews are an essential resource when making purchase decisions

It’s clear consumers place a lot of weight on ratings and reviews. In addition, we know that the very presence of reviews increases shopper confidence – and conversion. A recent analysis found that there’s a 108.6% lift in conversion when shoppers interact with ratings and reviews.

But what happens if a shopper looks for reviews and comes up short? Nearly half (45%) simply won’t purchase a product if there are no ratings and reviews available for it. This number is even higher among Gen Z (58%) and Millennial (48%) shoppers.

The bottom line? Brands and retailers can’t afford not to display ratings and reviews.

Portion of consumers who would NOT buy a product if there were no ratings and reviews available for it.

There’s a level of risk associated with purchasing a product sight unseen. As the price increases, so too does the risk.

So, it’s probably not surprising that 78% of consumers say that the more expensive the product, the more they read reviews. This number is even higher among Gen Z (83%) and Millennial (82%) shoppers.

Portion of consumers who read more reviews when shopping for expensive products.

Portion of consumers who read more reviews when shopping for expensive products.

A shopper is unlikely to consult reviews when purchasing tried and true products – such as their go-to shampoo or cereal. But when considering a new (or new to them) product, reviews are essential.

Nearly all (98%) of consumers indicate they’re more likely to read reviews for a product they’ve never purchased before. In fact, shoppers across all generations and income brackets are significantly more likely to consult reviews when considering a new product.

Portion of consumers who are more likely to read reviews for a product they’ve never purchased before.

Ultimately, the goal is to generate reviews across all products in your catalog. However, your brand’s overall reputation can boost shoppers’ trust in the absence of reviews for a specific product. 63% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product without reviews if other products manufactured by the same brand have a high overall rating.

Consumers have nearly endless options. In order to compete, brands and retailers must first have a clear understanding of what those consumers expect throughout the purchase journey – and how different factors impact their behavior.

Read on for five key takeaways from our latest survey.

Modern consumers trust feedback from their peers over anything else, with reviews regarded as (marginally) more important than price when making purchase decisions.

Similarly, 82% of consumers trust ratings and reviews as much as or more than recommendations from family members or friends.

Brands and retailers must work to preserve these high levels of trust shoppers clearly have in review content. It’s therefore essential to have a moderation process in place that filters out fake or fraudulent content. But never filter out content solely based on the star rating. Negative reviews help shoppers make informed purchase decisions and bolster trust.

In addition, over half (56%) of shoppers don’t feel a star rating alone is as trustworthy as a star rating with an accompanying review. As such, make written commentary a required field in your write-a-review form.

By now, the vast majority of consumers browse and buy online. 99.5% of shoppers research purchases online at least sometimes, and 87% regularly or always do so.

The presence (or absence) of reviews impacts where they choose to shop online. Over three-quarters (77%) specifically seek out websites with ratings and reviews and nearly all (99.5%) read reviews.

It’s essential to collect and display ratings and reviews across your entire product catalog. Doing so is key to attracting shoppers early in the purchase journey.

Today, a staggering 98% of consumers say reviews are an essential resource when making purchase decisions. Ratings and reviews guide shoppers – whether they’re just starting to learn about products or getting ready to make a purchase decision.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) use ratings and reviews to learn about products they’ve never purchased before. And 93% say this content impacts whether or not they purchase a product.

Collecting and displaying reviews is an important way to connect with shoppers, wherever they may be on the purchase journey.

Consumers rely on reviews across myriad product and service categories. However, there are times when reviews are especially important.

One such circ*mstance is when a shopper is considering a higher priced item. 78% of shoppers say they read more reviews for more expensive items.

In addition, reviews are particularly important when a consumer is considering a new (or new to them) brand or product. 98% of shoppers are more likely to read reviews for a product they’ve never bought before.

The ultimate goal is to generate a high volume of reviews for products across your entire catalog. However, it’s especially important to focus on generating reviews for your higher priced and newer product offerings. The presence of this content will help shoppers overcome the risk involved with purchasing a higher priced or unknown product.

One thing is clear: ratings and reviews have the power to influence behavior throughout the purchase journey. If you’re like most brands and retailers, you understand this and have been collecting and displaying ratings and reviews for some time.

But developing a ratings and reviews strategy shouldn’t be a one-time event. Instead, be sure to measure the performance of your ratings and reviews program to identify areas for improvement. By making data-based optimizations, you can meet shoppers’ expectations – and start seeing a larger impact from your review collection and display efforts.