Marketer Demand for Ratings & Reviews

• Bazaarvoice looked across an aggregate of clients for products added to a site within the past year where the product feed was updated in the past 30 days; for products rated two stars (out of five) or below, 70% of the products have been pulled from the site, compared to a site average of 47%. And the products were pulled 24 days faster than the site average, for a 10% decrease in time on site. (Bazaarblog, October 2009)

• 60% of Retailers use customer reviews; 55% say reviews are a priority in the coming year. (Shop.org, July 2009)

• Brands w/ highest "social media activity" (includes reviews) increased revenues by as much as 18%. (Media Post News, July 2009)

• 69% of companies using Web 2.0 have gained measurable business benefits. (McKinsey Quarterly, September 2009)

• 58% of the EG100 retailers implemented ratings and reviews in 2008, up from 50% in 2007; 24 percent sell by top-rated products. (e-tailing group's 11th Annual Mystery Shopping Survey, January 2009)

• Despite 71% of CMOs saying that overall marketing budgets have been reduced, nearly half – 47% – of all CMOs say they plan to increase their spending on social media. (Forrester, 2009)

• 68% of online marketers believe "media is in big trouble and will lose dollars to user-generated content." (iMedia Connection, February 2008)

• 84% of marketers agree that building customer trust will become marketing's primary objective (1to1 Media survey of the 1to1 Xchange panel, April 2008)

• 76% of US retailers said user-generated content would have a greater impact on their marketing goals in the near future. (SLI Systems/Zoomerang, November 2008)

• Of merchants who adopt customer reviews, 58% said improving customer experience was the most important reason for adding reviews to their sites, followed by building customer loyalty (47%), driving sales (42%), and maintaining a competitive advantage (37%). (eTailing Group, June 2008)

• By 2020, 84% of marketers agree that building customer trust will become marketing's primary objective, and 82% agree that collaboration with customers will prevail over marketing. (1to1 Media survey of the 1to1 Xchange panel, April 2008)

• 11% of retailers reported a 20% or more overall increase in conversions as a result of adding reviews to their sites, 21% reported an 11% to 20% increase and 5% reported a 1% to 10% increase. (eTailing Group, June 2008)

• 56% of UK website owners say that user-generated content lifts conversion levels; 77% say it increases traffic; and 42% say it increases the average spend on site.(eConsultancy survey of 360 website owners across all sectors, November 2008)

• Dave Seifert of Bass Pro Shops noted at a Shop.org round table discussion that Top Rated Products were "the #1 merchandising technique ever utilized on their site." (Bass Pro Shops, June 2008)

• 81% of marketers surveyed say that their social media spending will meet or exceed their traditional advertising spending within the next 5 years. (TWI Surveys/Society for New Communications Research, November 2007)

• After their order, PETCO asked customers, "What online tool most influenced your purchase decision?" The #1 answer was product ratings and reviews, with site search coming in a distant second. (PETCO, June 2007)