By Matt Parsons, PowerReviews
There’s no denying that mobile devices have transformed the way we shop. With mobile wallets, one-click payments and data-driven product suggestions, mobile shoppers are able to browse and make purchases more easily than ever before. These advancements in mobile technology have streamlined the purchase process and instilled a culture of convenience in today’s shoppers — leading to more frequent impulse buys.
But technology isn’t the only thing driving the rise of mobile impulse purchases. The availability of product information, like ratings and reviews, also plays an important role in the rise of the mobile impulse buy. Mobile shoppers are empowered with all the product information they need, always available at their fingertips, to make a confident (and quick) purchase.
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Here are a few examples of how ratings and reviews are transforming the shopping experience and influencing the mobile impulse buy.
Omnichannel Presence Of Reviews
Shopping has become an omnichannel experience and the brands and retailers rising to the top are those that make product information available to consumers wherever and however they’re shopping. Today’s shoppers expect to search for a product and find the information they need with minimal effort. If they can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll search elsewhere. Plus, with 70% of mobile shoppers reporting they are more likely to buy a product if the mobile site or app they’re purchasing from has reviews, it’s key for retailers and brands to incorporate these insights at every touch point. Retailers should continue to ensure their reviews are mobile-friendly and optimized across all platforms in order to drive traffic, build knowledge and convert browsers into impulse buyers.
The Value Of Visuals
For brands and retailers, visual content is no longer optional, it’s expected. Consumers have become accustomed to seeing an image of the product online before making a final purchase. Reviews that include images provide much more value and result in much higher conversion rates. In fact, according to Olapic, 32% of customers would be more likely to buy clothing online if the site featured photos of real customers wearing the product. This is especially true when an online or mobile shopper is purchasing a product before seeing it in person. Be sure to speak to your review provider to make sure they allow visual feedback from consumers.
A Mobile Friendly Process
In order for reviews to be impactful, you must generate a steady stream of them. And now, more than ever, it’s crucial to ensure the entire review collection process is optimized for mobile. Today’s consumers are busy people, and if they get hung up on any part of the process, they’re likely to abandon it all together.
More than half of consumers are using their phones to check email, so be sure your post-purchase emails asking shoppers to write reviews are optimized for mobile. And make sure your “write a review” form can easily be completed by shoppers, regardless of the device they’re using. Finally, remember that many shoppers are purchasing more than one item in one transaction, so be sure they can easily review all products they’ve purchased from a single page.
Matt Parsons is the Chief Customer Office of PowerReviews, a leading provider of customer review technology to more than 1,000 brands and retailers.
