Every eCommerce brand wants to increase conversions, right?
Here’s the thing.
Amazon is testing 🧪
So what’s Amazon testing?
Amazon is experimenting with a new way to show product ratings on search results pages that omits the number of reviews and instead displays the star rating, for example, 3.5, 4.9, etc, and the percentage of reviews that provided that rating…. This is super interesting for user experience (UX) and conversions 📈
As you know, relying on the number of reviews for a product rather than just the star rating will help Amazon customers (like you and me), decide whether or not to make a purchase.
See screenshot of the mobile versions (old way):
Here’s the screenshot of the web version for me (old way).
Here’s a screenshot of the percentage test from Amazon (new way):
Breakdown of the new Amazon UX test 🧪
Personally, I think this is an awesome strategy by the eCommerce giants!
Here’s what I’ve analysed:
- Amazon is testing a new feature that displays star ratings more prominently on product search pages. Previously, star ratings were only shown on individual product pages
- In the test, star ratings now appear right below the product title and price on search results pages. The goal is to help customers quickly see the reviews and ratings for products as they browse search results… Of course, with the goal of better conversion rates.
- The change is being tested on mobile apps and the desktop site. Some users are seeing it while others are not, indicating it is likely an A/B test.. I seem to get the results more on mobile. So, US vs UK testing may be a lot different.
- Displaying prominent ratings on search pages enables customers to filter out low-rated products earlier in the shopping journey. However, it could also introduce some bias into the search algorithm if highly-rated products get more clicks.
- The test comes as Amazon aims to build trust and reduce fakes/fraudulent products on its marketplace after issues with some sellers manipulating reviews. More visible ratings help customers identify quality products.
Is the Amazon review UX test a good thing?
This seems like a game changer to improve the shopping experience and highlight quality products… This of course should have a massive impact on overall conversions!
Let’s remember.
Ratings and reviews are key factors for most shoppers (I 100% always go for reviews), so making them more visible earlier in the buyer’s journey will help with conversions.
It will be interesting to see if it causes any shifts in search result rankings or click-through rates. Amazon will need to watch that the ratings don’t overly bias search algorithms. Integrating ratings in a balanced, ethical way will be important.
Another thing.
I’d love to know if the ratings displayed will be an aggregate of all reviews or if Amazon will highlight ratings from verified purchases only. That could help build more trust in the ratings, right?
So…
For me, this seems like a user-friendly BIG change of Amazon’s platform that aims to showcase quality while giving more insight into products earlier in the shopping journey.
It aligns well with Amazon’s efforts to remove fraudulent/fake reviews and showcase good user experience, agree?
Most of all.
It should help with conversions!
