Product reviews drive 29% increase in time on site

April 11, 2008

Overview

Measuring the time consumers spend on eCommerce sites has become a key statistic for marketers. Nielsen Media Research decided to “scrap rankings based on the long time yardstick of page views and begin tracking how long visitors spend at sites.” One way to measure “time on site” is to measure product views per viewing session. Consumers spend more time on product pages than anywhere else on an eCommerce site. A higher average number of product page views per visit for rated products means that consumers spend more time and browse more products on a website when ratings and reviews are present. As consumers browse the site longer there is also a higher propensity for an increase in average order value and site conversion.

Executive summary

• Ratings & reviews contributes to an increase in the amount of time an online consumer spends browsing products on a site.
• Six online retailers who were analyzed saw an average of 28.8% increase in product views per viewing sessions for products with reviews, compared to those without.
• The same retailers saw an average 48.5% increase in product views per viewing sessions for products with 31+ reviews.
• On average, 63.8% of product visits are for products with reviews.
• Looking at top-visited product pages, consumers spent 41.8% more time on those pages with product reviews.
• In recent studies, leveraging review content through the SearchVoice Microsite has shown to increase time on site by 68% on top of the time on site benefits coming from SearchVoice pages.
• A large online apparel retailer that implemented Customer Favorite categories saw a 45.8% greater time on site compared to the category average.

Product Views / Viewing Sessions
Large Apparel Retailer

A large online apparel retailer saw a 106% improvement in product views per viewing sessions for products with 31+ reviews. Overall, the retailer saw a 47.1% improvement for products with reviews compared to those without.

Download This Case Study (PDF)

• Increasing sales

• Product reviews increase conversion for Argos
• Reviews Help Recapture Market Share on High End Products
• Mistergooddeal's conversion surges 40%, time on site increases 24% with Ratings & Reviews
• The Answer Den drives orders, traffic, and sales results for PETCO.com
• UK Shoppers Respond to Product Reviews on QVCUK.com
• Word of mouth increases sales for Zales
• User-generated content gives MotoSport a 21% incremental conversion increase
• Ratings & Reviews drive 116% conversion for Dutch retailer
• Ask & Answer attracts new users, increases conversion
• Omniture/Bazaarvoice help major online retailer uncover results
• Ratings and Reviews increase conversion rates on figleaves.com UK
• Boden sees higher conversion from review-reading visitors

• Driving multichannel marketing results

• La-Z-Boy Comfort Stories campaign drives 13,000 new prospects
• Customer reviews drive 196% increase in paid search revenue for Office Depot
• Email with customer reviews drives 10% increase in conversion
• Customer reviews in email marketing campaigns drive sales
• Swanson Health feels the effect of a double-dose of click-throughs

• Channel marketing for manufacturers and retailers

• By syndicating reviews to OfficeDepot.com, Kingston doubled conversion
• BrandVoice creates dramatic increase in review volume

• Enhancing purchasing decisions

• Customer reviews drive higher intent to buy for Cars.com
• Paradox of choice

• Increasing loyalty, site stickiness

• Bath & Body Works' reviewers become more frequent customers
• Ratings and reviews increase time consumers spend on site
• Use Net Promoter scores to identify solid influencers
• SearchVoice Microsite drives organic customer acquisition
• Photo reviews drive conversion, enhance customer experience

• Driving operational improvements and cost savings

• Entire organization rallies to improve product ratings, sales
• Customer Q&A leads to 23% decrease in product returns
• Ask & Answer™ decreases product-related support costs
• High review volumes help decrease return rates

• Increasing search metrics

• SearchVoice drives 142% search traffic increase
• philosophy drives new site traffic with Mother's Day campaign
• SearchVoice Microsite quickly increases natural search traffic
• "Sort by Rating" option drives conversion for Golfsmith

• Enhancing user experience with social navigation

• "Customer Favorites" categories drive sales
• Social navigation drives sales at PETCO.com