Visibility leads to Trust. Trust leads to Engagement. Engagement leads to Sales.
Customer reviews play an increasingly impactful role in the success and online presence of auto aftermarket eCommerce stores. In recent months we’ve discussed customer reviews and recommended extensions for powering reviews, but one topic we haven’t explored is why you need reviews in the first place. In this blog we’ll take a look at why every auto aftermarket eCommerce website needs customer reviews, and the direct benefits they can bring.
1. Reviews Encourage Engagement With Your Site—Before and After a Sale
Reviews for your auto aftermarket products help inform the customer’s decisions. During the decision-making process, shoppers take note of what other people are saying about your products. This may even cause them to change their mind and look at a different product than the one they were initially searching for. Research shows that 70% of customers look at reviews on products and stores before making a final purchase.
Customer reviews are the ultimate user-generated content. They provide a unique level of insight on a product that a seller can’t provide, giving your product and brand true validation if a large enough number of positive reviews are flowing in. This is especially true for auto aftermarket products. Without the ability to try the products out to ensure they fit with their vehicle, your website visitors will look to reviews to learn more about the product specifications and features from unbiased individuals with first-hand experience.
2. Reviews Increase Revenue and Conversion Rates
All of the engagement, trust, and visibility that builds up with genuine customer reviews leads to increased revenue and traffic. According to Reevoo stats, 50 or more reviews per product can mean a 4.6% increase in conversion rates. And 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site that has user reviews, according to iPerceptions. Simply put, customers are more likely to convert because of review representation on products.
That’s because reviews are a form of social proof, which removes some of the friction and uncertainty of shopping online. People are much more likely to believe the third-party perspective of what their peers are saying about your product than what you wrote in your product description. Personal shopper experience trumps a seller’s sales pitch every time—especially when that shopper shares how great their customer service was, in addition to how happy they are with the product, as one shopper on CARiD did.
3. Reviews Increase Site Traffic
Customer reviews can increase site traffic in several key ways. Adding a review schema to your auto aftermarket web store ensures that your reviews are readable by search engines. This makes your appearance in search result pages more appealing to the searcher and can make your business rank higher in the local pack when applicable. More visibility in these areas can equal more traffic. For example, AutoZone appears towards the top of Google search results for cargo liners, in part because of its excellent customer reviews.
4. Reviews Keep Your Offerings Competitive
Google, Bing, Amazon and other platforms you may use to showcase your business’s offerings all utilize reviews to show potential customers relevant products based on what they have previously searched for. Reviews are free content, but the trick is getting them from your customers. Usually, all it takes is a small reminder, and there are tools out there that will follow up with your customers for you so that you don’t let any possible reviews slip through the cracks. These include automation from review services like Yotpo to a myriad of other tools like Bazaarvoice and OutReach Frog.
5. Real Reviews Reaffirm Your Brand
Shopify has revealed that 63% of customers are more likely to convert after seeing reviews. Good reviews, bad reviews—no problem! Having an overwhelming amount of positive reviews may make your customer wonder if the reviews may not be from actual customers. That’s why you should make sure to utilize reviews of any kind, wherever possible. Advance Auto Parts does a great job of this, by featuring the most popular positive and negative reviews, to win shoppers’ trust.
JEGS also incorporates a range of reviews on their product pages, along with recommended items with similar ratings from customers.
Conclusion
Customer reviews make a dramatic impact on conversion rates and remain key to maximizing your revenue-per-visit. They add a layer of trust and legitimacy to your website and brand that no marketing initiative or campaign can purchase. This all makes customer reviews a must-have for any eCommerce brand. To learn more about how to choose and install a product review system on your auto aftermarket eCommerce site, or for assistance with how to make the most of your current system, reach out to our team of specialists.
