How Important Are Product Reviews When Making a Purchase?
If you find yourself hesitant to make a purchase before scouring the all important product review section, you’re not alone. We recently conducted a survey asking how women use product reviews in their day to day lives and all signs point to online reviews being a big factor.
More than 1,100 of you responded to this survey and here are some interesting key takeaways:
Do product reviews help us decide what to buy?
- Close to 100% of women surveyed (96%) say they have read online product reviews before deciding to make a purchase.
- Many times a product review can actually persuade us to make a purchase with 89% of women saying they bought products after seeing reviews.
- Even while shopping in-store, more than half (51%) say they have looked up online reviews in the aisle before making a decision.
- We are willing to pay extra for a well-reviewed item. Only 14% said they wouldn’t spend more for a product if it had better online reviews.
- How much more are we willing to pay if a product has glowing reviews? 30% would pay 10% more; 16% would pay 11-20% more; 11% would pay 21% more. Also, 27% are not sure how much more they would pay- but they would pay more.
Which online reviews really speak to us?
- Text accompanied with a photo are the most influential type of product review with 140% saying this is more influential than just text alone and even 41% more influential than video reviews.
Which products work best with reviews?
- Beauty products was the number one category where 73% of women consult product reviews before a purchase.
- Next on the list is electronics (67%), appliances (67%) and clothing (61%).
- Women said they used product reviews least when shopping for auto care products (23%), seasonal items (30%), cars (30%) and toys (33%).
Where do we get product info and who do we trust?
- Social media posts from friends, families, or someone you follow is leading the charge with 75% saying this is a trustworthy way to learn product information.
- Only 9% say they would listen to ads/infomercials for product info and 28% would trust journalist reviews.
Why write a review?
- It seems positive experiences are a better reason for many of us to post a review with 75% siting this reason for why they felt the need to share a review.
- Close to 60% have written reviews after having a poor experience with a product purchase.
What do you think of the survey results showing how much we rely on product reviews when making a purchase?
How do you decide to make a purchase?