Outdated reviews reduce conversions. Fix it

How old are the reviews for your products? How about six months? In that case, you are losing 38% of your potential customers every day and conversion is dropping dangerously. This is based on the results of a new survey that clearly states that the timeliness of reviews is often more important than the volume or number of stars. You'll find all the data and recommendations on what to do with it in today's article.

When people are looking for reviews, they want them to be as fresh as possible

According to a new survey, 97% of buyers care about the review date. Most people examine it closely and go to competitors when in doubt. The psychological mechanism behind this effect is logical - the market changes dynamically, any information gets old fast. Customers are well aware of this and therefore seek the most up-to-date information. But how long exactly is the time that distinguishes a fresh review from an "expired" one? If, like most brands, you're guessing six months to a year, then you should definitely keep reading.

The expiration date of the reviews is already three months

One year old reviews deter more than half of customers from buying a product, 38% are already in doubt after 3 months. In practice, this means losing at least 4 out of 10 buyers. For Gen Z, the effect is even stronger, 3 months or more old reviews will deter 44% of them. To top it all off, the number of people who absolutely don't care about the age of reviews in any of the generations surveyed did not exceed 50%.

For sellers, this data signals a clear fact - if you're not renewing your reviews regularly and frequently, you're on the hook for more than half your chances of conversions.

The age of the rating matters most for new brands and products

For a massive 86% of people, the freshness of reviews is particularly important when making their first purchase from a new brand.

They are most wary of products in the categories of consumer electronics, health and beauty, clothing, shoes and accessories. Which makes sense, as it's these types of goods that are evolving the fastest these days and shoppers like to keep up with the latest fashions. Even a few months here can mean the difference between a hot new product and a flop you won't even stumble across

How can you ensure that your reviews don't get bad and your conversions grow?

77% of people want reviews less than three months old, 34% go to the extreme and look for texts no more than a month old. Meet their needs with the following tips:

• Allow filtering reviews by date. This makes it easy for customers to check out the latest reviews and make sure you're still as awesome as ever.
• Collect reviews regularly. Ask for them after every purchase, in newsletters or on social media. You'll get a steady stream of texts with minimal investment.
• It's been 90 days and still no reviews? Take action. In this case, you're already past the three-month consumption period and need to start actively collecting reviews.
• Work with us. Your product will be tested by regular customers, the resulting review won't go to waste, and the result will be information-rich texts. Make an appointment with us and arrange regular testing so that your reviews never lose their relevance.

Source:

1) Team, P. (2022, April 25). The Power of Review Volume & Recency. PowerReviews.