Category: eCommerce

3 Reasons to Keep Those Negative Product Reviews

The most reviewed item on Amazon.
The most reviewed item on Amazon.

Product reviews can be found on nearly every eCommerce site, and most recognizably on the eCommerce giant Amazon. That’s with good reason: reviews have been proven to increase conversion rates. But spend any time at a company with an eCommerce presence and the following question will eventually come up, usually in a cross-departmental meeting, and usually from merchants or buyers:

Can we delete the negative reviews? They’re hurting our sales.

In some organizations, this indeed happens (I’m suspicious, Home Depot). The concept makes sense on its face. The customer didn’t like the item for whatever reason, and that will scare away other potential customers. This is especially prevalent on new items – one or two initial negative reviews could sink the item before it even had a chance to succeed.

Unfortunately, this is wishful thinking. Here’s why.

Reason #1: Items are not meant for everyone.

Say you are selling a wristwatch with a leather strap. Someone may leave a negative review stating that he’s a runner, and the strap wasn’t removable, so he returned the item. This item wasn’t meant for him. This is a nice segue into the next reason …

Reason #2: Visitors feel more informed after reading negative reviews. They feel like they’ve done their homework.

Returning to the wristwatch example, potential customers feel like they know what’s “wrong” with item: the strap isn’t removable. Then, they weigh that “con” against what they are looking for in a watch. Many visitors will find that does not matter to them, AND they feel like they have enough information to make a decision. Great!

Reason #3: Negative product reviews provide a balance to the positive reviews.

The 1st and 3rd have the same price, but the 1st is looking much better thanks to the reviews on the 3rd.
The 1st and 3rd have the same price, but the 1st is looking much better thanks to the reviews on the 3rd.

There should be some items that are not the best. That’s okay. It makes the items that do have 100% positive reviews look more legitimate. It’s part of the old “good-better-best” marketing strategy.

Really, the strategy of how to deal with negative reviews boils down to either protecting individual products or protecting overall site conversion. I believe it’s better to work with customer feedback instead of against it.

eCommerce Site Search Optimization Tips

Site Search box 2006
Target’s search box, circa 2006.

I’ve worked in eCommerce since 2006. One mainstay of my industry has been the site search engine. It’s still a box at the top of the page, but its prominence has only grown as searching has become the way of finding things (as opposed to browsing). This is something that’s crucial for all websites, but I’ll focus on B2C eCommerce for now.

The important thing to keep in mind when optimizing site search is to make the experience as seamless as possible. You want your users to get lost in the fun of shopping and product discovery. If they have to ask questions, they are getting anxious, and anxiety does not equate to conversions.

Tip #1: Make it easy to get directly to a product via the search box.

If a searcher has a product number, exact product name or something else that indicates they are looking for a specific item, send them directly to the product page. That’s right, bypass search results entirely. There’s no reason to go to that page. You’ve got a motivated shopper, let’s make it easy!

Tip #2: Add synonyms.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth mentioning as I’ve had to do it for each eCommerce site I’ve worked on. If you’re not currently doing it, it’s a big winner. For example, someone searching for coats may call it a jacket, overcoat, windbreaker, etc. A generic search like “jackets” needs to show all types of jackets, as that searcher is engaging in product discovery.

Tip #3: Don’t forget content pages.

Site Search Content Pages
A search for “return policy” on OnlineShoes.com goes straight to the appropriate page.

Despite your best efforts to answer questions like shipping costs and return policy, customers will consistently use the search box to find that information. Make sure you are redirecting them to the correct page instead of product results. Or even better, answer the question with autocomplete so they don’t have to leave whatever page they may be on.

Tip #4: Set up a ranking algorithm.

It’s not enough to simply return all products that match a query. Returning customers want to see your new products. New customers want to see best sellers that are top rated. Both want to see items that are in stock. There are plenty of factors beyond keywords that can be utilized for a better customer experience.

Tip #5: Facets may not be as important as you may think.

Site Search Refinements
Refinements for a search on Nordstrom’s for men’s jackets.

Facets, or refinements, are used to help searchers narrow a result set to something more manageable. It’s something I use often, especially on bigger eCommerce sites. However, thanks to web analytics programs like Adobe’s Site Catalyst, I’ve realized that facets aren’t actually used that often. In fact, customers are more likely to go page after page instead of utilizing refinements. They are still useful, certainly. But maybe not as much as initially though.