Generic reviews are pointless. But a detailed and helpful review can do wonders.

Hat tip to Paige Kusmierz for sharing this. Expedia is in the business of maximizing profits (you should be too). And the highest margin item one can sell is insurance. So Expedia pushes hard for it. But instead of just pushing it they show a real customer story to drive home their point: Shoppers care way more about the opinion …

I was on a product page that had 562 reviews with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars. 96% of respondents said they’d recommend this product to a friend. That’s amazing, right? We’ll, it depends. While the overall stats are impressive their latest review was very negative: This one negative review stopped me on my tracks. It’s silly …

Your product page design should be based on the type of product being sold.  If a shopper is buying a technical product, complex product, a product they aren’t familiar with, a product that’s very expensive, then they are going to focus on your product description.  But for all other cases product image + customer reviews are the most important details.  …

Most online retailers smile when they hit 30,000 Facebook fans. Rareseeds.com sells heirloom seeds.  Not only do they have 469,000 Facebook fans they also have 5,300 customers who’ve given them 5 out of 5 stars on Facebook reviews.  That’s five thousand three hundred five star ratings.  Think about that for a minute–

For years I’ve been thinking about a test idea that combines these 2 facts– 1: Shoppers are more likely to convert when they can read reviews. 2: For a shopper in [Michigan] reading a review of another shopper who also happens to live in [Michigan] is a strong influencer.  Here [Michigan] can be any state. And then, I discovered a …

Studies show going from zero reviews to one review with 4.2 stars or better improves conversion rates (sales) by 20 percent. (Source) The folks at moosejaw.com probably know this, which is why they reward first reviews–