Word of mouth in the digital realm equates to reviews and ratings that are an integral part of the online shopping experience. These reviews and ratings can make or break a brand’s identity. From a customer’s perspective, scrolling through the feedback window of their devices to look for all sorts of comments about a particular product is mandatory before making a purchase. Even if they use some of the best shopping apps, without finding genuine feedback, potential customers are very skeptical about zeroing down on any product or service.

When buying apparel and accessories, advanced options like a virtual tour of the store or trial are still negotiable. However, peeking through the reviews and ratings is an inherent tendency of all online buyers. This is why online shopping apps and virtual stores that want to grow and shape their offerings around the customers’ preferences are keen to hear from their target audience, but there’s more. Read on for a series of reasons revolving around why reviews and ratings cannot be ignored if formulating a robust marketing strategy. 

1. They Help Build Credibility

Often, the websites or web pages that look shady have fewer reviews, and one of the major deciding factors for any such platform to ensure its legitimacy is to look for customer reviews on any of their products or services. Even other businesses who want to engage will search the feedback page of the brand to see how potential users are reacting to their products and offerings. After interacting with the brand members directly, reviews are the next closest thing for a customer to feel at ease while shopping for the brand. 

1. They Serve As Social Proof

As already mentioned, in the digital landscape, reviews and ratings are as good as word of mouth as they drive purchase intent and thus impact sales. Even if customers are total strangers to each other, checking out reviews helps them understand nuances about the quality and shelf-life of any product.

1. They Help Give Brands A Competitive Edge

Brands that work consistently to improve and improvise according to their consumers’ recommendations always have a winning edge against their competitors. Because it takes time for them to build that trust gradually, and the praises and compliments they receive always boost the sales. So, brands overlooking this factor and not considering their users’ opinions have a sure shot disadvantage over those who play close attention to them. 

1. They Increase Visibility

If you want your brand to become the algorithm’s favorite child, let genuine reviews pour in on your web page. Brands with more feedback and reviews (either good or bad) are more likely to pop up in the top search results which ultimately increases the conversion rate.

1. They Expand The Brand’s Reach 

Online reviews expand your digital reach. Dedicated websites provide the option to give feedback and opinion on different products from various domains, be it travel, food delivery, clothing or accessories. When people have good things to say about your brand on these hubs, Google takes data from these to drive its search algorithm, which will improve rankings and increase organic traffic.

Even famous apps like Myntra, Ajio, etc., are constantly striving to garner reviews and ratings from potential users. Apart from amplifying the quality of their products and offerings, they keep the communication channels open via their social media handles on different platforms. To conclude, reviews and ratings are crucial if you wish to create a credible, profit-making brand!