Nearly 98 million people in the US use Amazon’s mobile app each month, and economists project that the e-commerce market will soon reach $431 billion in revenue. On top of that, 89% of online consumers indicate they are more likely to purchase from Amazon than any other online site.
Let’s take a deep dive into Amazon consumer review statistics and how they impact the enormous e-commerce marketplace on Amazon.
Source: Oberlo, eComEngine
Top 5 Amazon Consumer Review Statistics
Here are the top five statistics affecting Amazon consumer reviews that surprised our team:
- Only 1-2% of Amazon buyers write reviews.
- Fake reviews account for as much as 42% of Amazon’s 750 million plus reviews.
- 82% of adults check reviews.
- A one-star rating increase on Amazon can increase sales by 26%.
- Product pages with customer reviews convert 3.5 times more frequently.
What Percentage of Amazon Buyers Leave Reviews?
Only 1-2% of buyers write reviews on Amazon of the products they purchase. It takes significant time to build up reviews of products at that slow review rate. A seller would need 10,000 sales just to reach 100-200 reviews. Amazon is implementing strategies, such as the one-click review, to increase Amazon buyers’ review rate.
Sellers can improve the appearance of their product reviews to shoppers with the proper strategy. Unfortunately, most sellers on Amazon overlook this valuable part of their marketing strategy to their detriment. The two most common ways to improve Amazon reviews are:
- Upvoting: Upvoting entails clicking on the “helpful” button next to positive reviews. This raises the stature of those reviews while simultaneously lowering negative reviews. Sellers may also ask friends and family to assist. Some companies provide reviewing and upvoting services, but this violates Amazon’s terms of service.
- Review Removal: Amazon removes reviews for many legitimate reasons: foul or obscene language, threats, reviews with links, reviews that target problems with fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) issues, as well as fake reviews. To request Amazon remove a review, create a ticket from the seller central interface.
Although acquiring reviews outside of Amazon’s terms of service may be tempting, it is not advisable. The Federal Trade Commission pursues suits against sellers engaging in fraudulent, purchased reviews of its products. Moreover, it may be unnecessary as Amazon takes steps to increase average review rates and eliminate fraudulent reviews. Amazon itself recently filed suit against numerous Facebook groups offering to provide fake reviews.
Amazon introduced its one-tap review system in late 2019, and the results are promising for new brands and sellers. The one-tap review allows Amazon buyers to leave a star review with a single tap—they are no longer required to write their review. Only customers who purchased the product have the one-tap review option. The one-tap review function changed Amazon consumer review statistics by:
- Increasing the rate of verified customer feedback and reviews
- Allowing new brands and sellers to receive feedback sooner
- Decreasing the value of fake reviews by increasing the number of overall reviews
There are still methods to game the one-tap system, and the informational value of a one-tap review may be lower than that of a traditionally written review. Still, this ultimately works to a seller’s benefit.
What Percentage of Amazon Reviews Are Fake?
Fake Amazon reviews may account for as much as 42% of Amazon’s 750 million+ reviews. Most fake reviews target products in the $15-$40 price range. Some products are more likely to have fake reviews than others. For example, electronics, supplements, beauty products, and sneakers are prone to fake reviews. According to Amazon consumer review statistics, the following percentages of reviews in the categories specified are unreliable or fake:
- 64% of supplement reviews may be fake
- 63% of beauty product reviews may be fake
- 61% of electronic reviews may be fake
- 59% of sneaker reviews may be fake
Of the two million unverified reviews on Amazon in March of 2018, 99.6% of reviews were 5-star ratings. Review Meta analyzed 58 million reviews and determined that 9.1%, or 5,278,000, were unnatural.
Buyers overwhelmingly rely on Amazon reviews when deciding on a purchase. In fact, 82% of adults check reviews. Yet, despite this reliance, fewer than one in five users trust reviews, and only 3% to 10% of purchasers regularly leave reviews.
The fake review industry feeds the mistrust, but business value fake positive reviews for the potential revenue: A rating increase of one star on Amazon can increase sales by 26%.
Sources: Review 42, Intelligencer
Amazon Shopper Product Review Trust
In a recent survey, 24.6% of respondents said they only trusted reviews from verified purchasers. These Amazon consumer review statistics can help sellers better understand how Amazon shoppers interact with reviews:
- 89% of consumers will make an effort to read reviews before making purchase decisions
- Over 50% of potential purchasers find imperfect review scores more believable
- Over 60% of customers will do additional research if the product has a five-star rating
- 62% of customers will not purchase items from a seller that censors their reviews
- 79% of customers treat reviews similar to how they treat a personal recommendation
- 57% of customers read reviews on Amazon, second only to Google reviews at 59%
- 54.7% of customers read at least four reviews before purchasing a product
- 53.3% of reviewers expect to hear from the company within a week after leaving a negative review
- 97% of customers who read online reviews will read the company’s responses to reviews
- Product pages with customer reviews convert 3.5 times more frequently than those without
The data is conclusive. Amazon shoppers read reviews. The information also supports the conclusion that customers trust Amazon.
- 98 million Americans use the Amazon app every month, making it the second most popular app in the country.
- 89% of consumers indicate they prefer Amazon more than other e-commerce sites.
- Between April 2020 and April 2022, Amazon Prime Membership exploded by 50% from 100 million to 150 million.
Amazon’s sales revenue further supports the conclusion that customers trust Amazon. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Amazon made $125.6 billion in sales revenue. Perhaps this is not surprising as:
- Amazon has over 2 million sellers.
- Small- and medium-sized businesses sell 4,000 products per minute.
Product reviews influence customer experience and purchase decisions for 98% of Amazon customers. Therefore, Amazon sellers must be concerned with their product and company reviews on the site.
Top Reasons Amazon Consumers Leave Reviews
Understanding the reasons Amazon customers leave reviews provides insight into how products and companies can receive more positive reviews and avoid negative ones.
The available data indicates that the top reasons for reviews of Amazon include the following:
- 56% say the product was excellent
- 41% say the product was unsatisfactory
- 38% of reviews help other buyers understand the product and make an informed decision
- 29% of reviews are about a product that arrived broken
- In 29% of reviews, the purchaser received an incentive for writing a review
- 22% of reviews mention that the quality of the product did not match its pricepoint
- 20% of reviews leave suggestions to improve the product
Provide a quality product in working order and at a fair price, and sellers will maximize positive customer reviews and minimize negative ones.
Customer incentives for leaving a review are no longer permitted on Amazon when the incentive comes directly from the seller. However, Amazon runs several programs that can incentivize reviewers. Specifically, Amazon has three ways for new sellers to increase their feedback quickly on Amazon and attract more customers:
- Amazon Vine
- Editorial Recommendations
- Early Reviewer Program
Sources: JungleScout
6 Ways to Get an Amazon Product Review: Best Practices
The best way to get an Amazon product review is to follow white-hat practices to provide a great consumer experience. White-hat review efforts are those authorized under Amazon’s terms of service. The following list contains some of the best practices:
- Enroll the product in Amazon Vine: This is an excellent method to obtain reviews for a product with limited exposure. However, it costs $200 per product, and one- to three-star reviews are common.
- Request Review Button: This allows a seller to request a review from a recent customer. Requesting a review may improve the odds of a review by 10-20%.
- Use Product Inserts: Inserts may not request a positive review. However, they may request a review.
- Use ManyChat: This is an efficient way to request a review and sell more products. It takes only minutes to set up.
- Promotional Giveaways and Discounts: These types of promotions generally increase sales, and more sales create a higher probability of receiving a review.
- Request Reviews: Reach out to customers, particularly from those buyers who have left positive seller feedback, as they are more likely to leave a review.
Sources: EcomCrew, WordStream, Amazon Listing Services
The Value of Positive Reviews
Positive reviews increase a sellers ranking and visibility within Amazon. This exposure creates more potential customers. Moreover, Amazon consumer review statistics reveal that reviews increase consumer trust, making customers more willing to spend more if the seller has a trusted review.
- Trust: Consumers spend up to 31% more if a product or business has positive reviews. A trusted review makes it 92% more likely that a seller acquires business-to-business buyers.
- Conversion and Visibility: Customer reviews boost store profile, increase conversion rate, and provide a business with better organic ranking—as much as a 6.46% weighted bump.
The Cost of Negative Reviews
Negative reviews can be catastrophic, especially if the seller has multiple negative reviews on a single product. The tangible costs of negative reviews include the following:
- Only 13% of customers will do business with a one- or two-star-rated company.
- An average rating of 3.3 stars is the minimum rating customers will accept.
- 94% of consumers state that a negative online review caused them to avoid purchasing from that business.
- A single negative review can change the mind of 80% of customers.
- A single negative article results in the loss of 22% of customers.
- Three negative articles cause the lost customer rate to jump to 59.2%.
Source: Qualtrics
Importance of Managing Reviews
Amazon review management is essential to a seller’s business. Positive reviews can catapult an online store, while negative reviews can sink a business. Sellers that actively manage their reviews:
- Improve sales
- Build brand awareness
- Increase product visibility
Managing negative reviews is an important part of success. However, incorrect management will amplify the harmful effects of a negative review. There is a wrong way to handle these reviews, and they violate Amazon’s terms of service. Do not contact the customer and ask them to amend or remove their review.
Source: Amazon Listing Services, Velocity Sellers, Aiello
Tips on Tackling Bad Reviews on Amazon
Sellers can do several things after receiving a bad review. The key is to handle it proactively by:
- Monitoring reviews regularly.
- Burying the review with new positive reviews.
- Addressing the customer’s issues by responding to the issue raised and attempting to resolve it favorably. This could lead the customer to amend or remove negative reviews.
- Requesting Amazon to remove the review if it violates Amazon’s terms of service.
Some deadlines apply to reviews and responses. After a purchase:
- A buyer has 90 days to submit feedback
- The buyer and Amazon then have 60 days to remove the feedback, or it is permanent
Sources: Inc., OJ Digital Solutions,
Why Do Customers Leave Negative Reviews
Understanding why customers write bad reviews can help sellers respond correctly to them and minimize them in the future.
- Quality of the Product: While some customers will inevitably be disappointed in a product, sellers can do their best to limit unhappy buyers by providing as detailed a description as possible, including multiple photographs, video, and a 360-degree image in their ad.
- Wrong Product: Amazon will handle the shipping for an FBA seller. If not, be sure to have systems in place to eliminate mistakes like shipping the wrong product to the customer, even if it is just the color.
- Delayed Shipment: Again, Amazon will handle this matter with a customer for an FBA seller. If not, be sure to keep customers apprised of any delays.
Review writing is a function of consumer behavior, and customers are more likely to write a bad review than a positive one. This is part of human nature—we rarely notice when there is no line at the grocery store, but we all recall the time we waited for 40 minutes.
Sources: Seller App, National Strategic Group
Preventing Negative Feedback on Amazon
Sellers need to adopt a holistic approach that involves monitoring reviews and responding to negative reviews. This will allow a seller to:
- Be aware of the reviews in time to act.
- Resolve the matter with the buyer.
- Improve their star rating.
While nobody wants bad reviews, take a minute to hear the buyer’s point. Perhaps there is something of value that sellers can take from the review moving forward to improve their business. This can help sellers avoid repeating a similar mistake.
Sources: Sellar App, Velocity Sellers
Conclusion
Amazon is a giant in an e-commerce marketplace worth $431 billion a year. With 89% of consumers more likely to purchase from Amazon than another online retailer, its market share will continue to grow, making Amazon consumer review statistics critical to sellers.
The most surprising Amazon customer review statistic is that 42% of 750 million current reviews are fraudulent. This will increase as the sheer amount of money at stake attracts nefarious actors. How Amazon addresses fake reviews in the future will be critical to watch.
