I have the habit of googling for information about a certain product before I decide on buying it, especially if its expensive or new. For example, if I’m buying electronics I’ll usually visit websites like Amazon.com or Circuit City.

Why? Because the user reviews there give me more details on the actual product’s design or usability. I like to have as much information as possible before paying for an expensive camera.

And it looks like I’m not the only one. A recent social commerce report on online retailers shows that the use of customer reviews will increase the overall sales for your website.

Asked about the effects of customer ratings on their Web sites, over half of online retailers in the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe said their overall conversion rates had gone up in the past year, compared with only 9% who said they fell.

Over three-quarters said their site traffic had increased. Only 5% said it had fallen. Average order values rose for 42% of the responding online retailers, and only 6% said they had decreased.

And that’s not the only benefit of user reviews, it seems. The online retailers surveyed have suggested that user reviews provide other advantages, such as improved customer retention/loyalty as well as better search engine optimization.

The report also suggests that search engines are the largely the first source used by customers when researching a product, with the official company site coming in second.

Customer Reviews Build Transparency and Trust

I’m in favor of user-generated customer reviews and I think they should be added to all online retailers in some way. Customer reviews show that you accept objective opinions of your products from the people that matter the most: your target market.

Even better if you indicate that all feedback will be taken into account and used to improve future products. Acknowledging your customer’s contribution to your brand demonstrates humility and concern for their needs.

Customer Reviews can also be considered as elements of social proof which show that a demographic is actively interested in your brand and product.

Improved customer retention and loyalty? You bet.

Blogs and User Generated Content/Reviews

Communities are built when you allow users to interact with your business or website through user submitted comments, articles and reviews.

Blogs are a content management system that is remarkably community-orientated. Customer reviews and testimonials are already built-in to the overall framework through the natural comments left by site visitors.

This is perfect for product reviews or affiliate recommendations because you’ll tend to get visitors sharing their thoughts about the same product or website. This makes the product buzzy and interesting, while possibly increasing your direct or affiliate conversion rate.