5 Stats on Why Retailers Should Deliver Product Reviews In-Store

Online reviews can be great marketing tools to help shoppers towards a purchasing decision. 

But they’re often missing one important element—the ability to touch, see, or hear the product in the store. 

In this post, we’ll show why you should give consumers in-store reviews and product information on smart devices, and how to do it. 

It will cover: 

• Why reviews are crucial. They offer credibility and social proof. They also allow customers to have their own voice while doing your marketing for you. 
• What these statistics mean. Physical stores must appeal to customers who regularly access reviews while buying online. 
• How you can make it happen. Providing access to reviews in-store is simple with Scandit Smart Data Capture.

1. 79% of customers say reviews are as important as personal recommendations

Customers see a friend’s recommendation as more relevant than any marketing campaign. Reviews, from a customer or from a respected source, are the next best thing.

What you can do:

• Ensure the review is both authentic and objective. If it is too positive, it could fail to achieve trust. 

2. In the US, 93% of customers read online reviews before buying a product

In a 2019 US study, 61% online shoppers said reviews were important. In 2021, 93% of customers said they read online reviews before buying a product. 

94% of purchases were made on products with an average rating of 4 stars and above. 

What you can do:

• Make the review easy to read and show a number of them.
• Go beyond the review itself and add some stars or bullet points so people can easily scan.

3. 71% to 76% – the increase in consumers who said they wanted to shop with a brand they trust

Trust is crucial for consumers. When a customer is shopping online the first thing they will look at is the product specification and then after that they will go to the reviews. 

What you can do

• Show balanced reviews. One or two slightly negative reviews can establish trust if the opinion is constructive. 
• Take care to avoid it looking like the brand has paid for the review. 

4. Consumers are spending around 15+ hours a week researching products on their smartphones

Customers are used to using their smart devices to look at reviews and product information. They do this whether they are enjoying a morning coffee in the kitchen or on the way to work on the train. 

So make it easy for them to get reviews in-store. 

What you can do.

• Take advantage of product barcode and use Scandit’s smart data capture technology to interact with the customer’s smart device. 
• Link the service via a pre-existing shopping smartphone app, like Self-Scanning.
• Provide plenty of information around the store informing consumers they can check product information and reviews via your app. 

5. 93% of people who use mobile to research complete a purchase of the product or service

Functionality? Size? Performance? There are many reasons customers hold off of buying products. Often they want to buy, but they want to clear up any reservations before doing so.

• Providing easy access to reviews can help overcome customer hesitancy at the most important time – when they are near the product and the checkout. 

Source: Google

But can it work in a physical store?

Product reviews and information clearly help sell products online. 

But can they work in a physical store? 

It can, according to Insider Trends analyst Cate Trotter. 

Speaking on a Scandit webinar she quoted a Reevoo research suggesting reviews can spark a x2.7 growth in sales. 

She said: “This stat was drawn from e-commerce but we can’t see any reason why you can’t get that same conversion lift in the store.”

So, imagine what that could do to your bottom line. 

Here, we show how it can be done. 

Instant reviews just by pointing your smart device

Reading and researching product reviews are one of the most appealing things about shopping online. People can view multiple products against each other at a click of a mouse.

Scandit brings the power of reviews and product information into the store.

MatrixScan and augmented reality make an ideal combination

Many customers are used to reading reviews about products in-store. However, many do it by typing the product name into a mobile browser. 

Why not save them the trouble? 

MatrixScan and AR come into their own when used to capture reviews in-store. 

Customers simply sweep the phone’s camera across the shelf. Your smart device will overlay multiple reviews or ratings across the products. Users can tap each overlay panel to reveal more information or the full review.  

Giving customers another reason to prefer your store. 

Summary – give your customers reviews in-store 

Scandit’s Smart Data Capture transforms everyday smart devices and gives superpowers to your customers.

Deliver the ability to view multiple reviews with just a sweep of the phone over the shelves. 

Want to find out more about MatrixScan and AR, and give customers product reviews? Then get in touch and we’ll show you how you can do it.