Smashing eBook #5: How to Create Selling E-Commerce Websites
First of all, reviews and ratings generate conversions as in the case of Hayneedle (formerly Netshops), which increased its sales by 26% after displaying user feedback. This percentage could be even higher, according to PowerReviews. While the fear that negative feedback might harm sales is not entirely unfounded, do not be too concerned, because reviewers are twice as likely to write positive reviews than negative ones. Even if you lose some sales of your mediocre products, you’ll win in the end because you will have sold many more of your superior ones. Moreover, negative reviews are not all that bad. As John McAteer, Google’s retail industry director, says, “No one trusts all positive reviews.” In the absence of negative reviews, visitors will assume that all of your reviews are fake. No service or product is perfect. Potential customers want to know what could go wrong with it. But if they cannot sympathize with a negative reviewer, they may be inclined to purchase your product. People sometimes want to read only negative reviews because they already have a positive impression of a product and want to know about disadvantages (intentionally or unintentionally) not mentioned by the provider. An unfair negative review could entice people to write positive reviews to mitigate the negative one and defend their favorite.
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