Key points
- Text format is still in the majority: 85% of customer reviews are text-based, according to Custplace
- 54% of shoppers have more confidence in customer reviews containing photos, according to Verifield Advices by Skeepers
- Photos included in customer reviews increase the natural referencing (SEO) of product information sheets and represents an opportunity to promote store visits.
Originally, customer reviews took the form of a simple rating out of 5 or 10 based on stars, accompanied by text. These now take several forms, including text, photos, videos and audio. Text is still the most common format, with 85% of customer reviews, according to the review management platform Custplace (based on a panel of 500 major companies in all sectors). However, photo and video formats are on the increase, particularly in the beauty, restaurant and automotive sectors.
Store to web: customer reviews on the rise in stores
Customer reviews, which originated on the web, can also lead to an omnichannel approach. Vusion Group is increasingly integrating these into store electronic labels. Examples are in stores for Brico Marché and Decathlon, which displays customer reviews directly on electronic labels. In Luxembourg, Decathlon City on Aldringen street uses ESL Vusion labels. The flagship store in Singapore, which used paper labels when we last visited in March 2023, also indicates the number of reviews collected and dates of update (less than two months old) on these labels. “However, this option is at the discretion of store managers and is not widely used”, says Marina Gaulon, Decathlon’s French Customer Reviews Leader.
Journaliste économique pour mind Retail depuis 2024, j’analyse la transformation digitale du commerce.
