Impact of Consumer Ratings and Reviews Surges in COVID-19 Era

PowerReviews analysis of consumer activity across 1.5MM product pages reveals both online review engagement and ecommerce conversions has doubled in last month


CHICAGO, April 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PowerReviews reveals the significant impact that COVID-19 has had on both consumer behavior and their interaction with online ratings and reviews in its report published today.

The PowerReviews Ratings & Reviews Retail Market Trends Report - COVID-19 Edition is based on analysis of consumer activity across more than 1.5MM review product pages from the websites of more than 1,200 brands. It reveals:

  • Skyrocketing conversions, with an increase of 101% between February 24 2020 and March 21 2020 but no notable increase in product page traffic
  • Review submission volumes and sentiment stable
  • Product review length falls 22% from February 24 2020 to March 22 2020
  • Consumer product review engagement up 104% from February 24 2020 to March 20 2020

Carol Krakowski - Director, Insights at PowerReviews, states:
“Ratings and review content is having greater impact on consumer behavior in the COVID-19 era, providing the validation and social proof necessary to drive sales. According to our figures, conversions and review engagement peak within a two day period. This is no coincidence.

“But it’s not just the fact that both these metrics increase that is significant, it’s the extent to which this is the case. Both conversions and review engagement more than doubled in less than a month.

“However, review length is down in the same period. Given broader consumer trends of high conversion levels at the moment, the next month represents an opportunity to generate deep and impactful review content for brands and retailers.”

Traffic steady but conversions skyrocket

Conversion levels peak on March 21 2020 after doubling within a month:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d2182b3e-9d15-4ecb-9bdb-a5a79e6bd9e1

Review engagement increases significantly

Consumer interactions with review content more than doubles during COVID-19 period, peaking on March 20 2020:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/45c5ad76-66fd-400e-a97d-7223b3c9302d

Read the full research findings on the PowerReviews blog.

Research Methodology
PowerReviews research is based on analysis of activity across more than 1.5MM product pages from more than 1,200 retail/brand sites between February 24, 2020 and March 24, 2020.

FURTHER INQUIRIES
Andrew Smith
Marketing Director
andrew.smith@powerreviews.com

ABOUT POWERREVIEWS

PowerReviews (PowerReviews.com) is a software and data company that works with 1000+ leading brands and retailers to bring authenticity and transparency to commerce.  The PowerReviews Customer Content Platform has four solutions that help our customers collect and manage customer-generated content to improve the product and customer experience across the customer journey. We help clients meet the evolving need for social proof, accelerating the path to purchase and brand advocacy.

PowerReviews is known for innovation, consultative partnership, and actionable insights, supported by our open platform and approach.  Our dedicated team of experts provides thoughtful analysis and turn-key service. PowerReviews is headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA.

Traffic steady but conversions skyrocket Review engagement increases significantly