Online shopping for the holiday season

In this report, we’ve compiled our list of seven ways to get ready for the 2021 holiday shopping season, and asked some industry leaders and Trustpilot customers to weigh in about another atypical festive period, and how you can best prepare for it.

Consumers would shop and – apart from how much growth we would see year on year – there weren’t too many changes outside of that.

But the pandemic changed all of that. Last year, because of economic uncertainty and varying levels of personal comfort shopping in person, as well as brick-and-mortar retailers being completely dependent on local guidelines, the holiday season brought a large amount of uncertainty for all of us. 

Unfortunately, this year is equally unclear. Is the shift to online shopping here to stay if brick-and-mortar stores remain open this shopping season? And how will the holiday season be affected as the pandemic worsens again? 

In this report, we’ve compiled our list of seven ways to get ready for the 2021 holiday shopping season, and asked some industry leaders and Trustpilot customers to weigh in about another atypical festive period, and how you can best prepare for it.

## Here are 7 Takeaways to remember this 2021 holiday season

### 1. Prepare for eCommerce growth and hybrid retail

The period of self-isolation we went through last year changed the way consumers search and shop, while businesses have had to adapt to new channels of communication and [new consumer behavior](https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/how%20covid%2019%20is%20changing%20consumer%20behavior%20now%20and%20forever/how-covid-19-is-changing-consumer-behaviornow-and-forever.pdf). In fact, last year, the online retail sales growth [hit a thirteen-year high](https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2021/01/online-retail-sales-growth-hit-13-year-high-in-2020/). 

Now that most restrictions have been lifted, we can expect some customers to do more brick-and-mortar shopping this year than they did last year. However, one study found that [38% of consumers](https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-e-commerce-fits-into-retails-post-pandemic-future) still intend to do their holiday shopping online, and only visit stores when they provide outstanding experiences.

“With the pandemic, most offline traffic switched to online traffic, meaning a substantially higher customer base was acquired for eCommerce retail. The challenge with the reopening of brick-and-mortar is to maintain the value-added your business provides as an eCommerce retailer by focusing on the elements that make it easy for customers to trust your store,” explains Gary A. President of [FragranceBuy Canada](https://fragrancebuy.ca/).

For retailers that have brick-and-mortar stores, focusing on improving your in-store experience could be essential to succeed this holiday season, while businesses that sell both online and offline are likely to be in the best position possible to convert consumers.

We asked Melissa Dixon, Director of Content Marketing at [BigCommerce](https://www.bigcommerce.com/), to share her thoughts on the upcoming festive season: 

“During Cyber Week 2020, BigCommerce [recorded a 74% increase in GMV year-over-year](https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/cyber-week). While we’ve continuously seen YoY Cyber Week growth over the years, the pandemic had a significant impact on last year’s shopping habits, which makes it difficult to predict if that same level of growth will happen again this year. 

However, we do know from a [recent survey that BigCommerce conducted with PayPal](https://www.bigcommerce.com/resources/guides/consumer-spending-trends-cdl-report/) that since the beginning of the pandemic, 62.5% of shoppers have reported spending more online than in person. 

The best advice for merchants is to check your supply chain and prepare your inventory for both online and in-store holiday shoppers. Also, make sure you’re accounting for newer shopping behaviors, like [buy online pickup in store (BOPIS)](https://www.bigcommerce.com/articles/offline-to-online/bopis/), that have really grown in popularity over the past year and a half.”

Whether consumers choose to shop online, offline, or use BOPIS or [curbside pickup](https://blogs.oracle.com/marketingcloud/post/improving-all-5-steps-of-a-curbside-pickup), many consumers could try and get their holiday shopping out of the way earlier than usual, to avoid delayed deliveries like last year.

Jordan Brannon, President & COO of [Coalition Technologies](https://coalitiontechnologies.com/), explains:

“Q4 2021 will continue the decentralization trend of consumer shopping behavior. As with 2020, and 2019 before it, consumers will begin shopping earlier in Q4 than in years prior.

Merchants should focus more effort on getting their consumers checked out sooner in November, or even late in October. They'll also need to ensure they have solid plans for unique engagement strategies to avoid promotion exhaustion from consumers who will be inundated with a heavy sales cadence for months. 

Merchants can succeed in these challenging holiday conditions by ensuring their marketing calendars feature a diversity of promotional events, clearly communicated, and designed to get more competitive product category sales closed out earlier in the season.”

Whether you’re an online or offline retailer (or both), here are three things to keep in mind for the next few months.

3 things to keep in mind this holiday season

### 2. Omni-channel experiences are on the rise

Today, an omni-channel experience should approach customer service, marketing and customer experience in a cohesive, connected manner, wherever and whenever a customer reaches out. 

This means connecting multiple communication channels, tools and platforms to create a seamless shopping experience. 

Recently, it’s become clear that multi-channel strategies no longer match consumers’ needs, as they create separate and independent shopping ecosystems, rather than one holistic experience.

This holiday season, offering seamless experiences from store to mobile or desktop is more likely to convert consumers as shoppers’ needs to navigate through different channels before making a purchase continue to increase.

Freshworks quote

Exploring new channels and creating a holistic customer experience from one channel to the other will be key to success this festive shopping season. 

In their [2020 report](https://www.pwc.com/us/en/retail-consumer/publications/assets/pwc-retailing-2020.pdf), PwC found that the number of companies investing in omni-channel experiences has jumped from 20% to more than 80% in just a year. And as this year’s mobile sales could make up for [72% of this year’s total sales](https://www.statista.com/chart/13139/estimated-worldwide-mobile-e-commerce-sales/), you could be missing out without an omni-channel strategy in place.

“One of the biggest tips we can give for this holiday is to expand your reach through additional channels and marketplaces. Over the past year, BigCommerce has launched new integrations, including [Instagram Checkout](https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/instagram-checkout-tips/) and [Walmart Marketplace](https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/selling-on-walmart-marketplace/), and many of our merchants are embracing these new channels to boost sales. 

This also emphasizes that the way shoppers discover products has evolved. For instance, in our [2021 Consumer Spending Trends survey](https://www.bigcommerce.com/resources/guides/consumer-spending-trends-cdl-report/), we found that 54.8% of respondents said that they were using social media to discover new products. 

Our advice is to find out which channels your customers are using, and start selling there. And if you’re unsure or don’t have the data, start experimenting by listing some of your inventory on places like Amazon or Instagram,” reports Melissa Dixon, Director of Content Marketing at BigCommerce.


3 steps to creating a successful omni-channel experience

### 3. Cross-border selling is growing in popularity 

Cross-border selling has become one of the main ways that merchants can grow their businesses and increase their bottom lines. And it makes sense. If you’re selling a great product or service, why limit your market size? 

“Another trend we are seeing with our merchants is the growth in cross-border sales — last holiday season, we saw orders spike in November and December,” says Melissa Dixon. 


BigCommerce quote

But cross-border selling comes with a lot of potential issues as well, and it’s really important to [take them into account](https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/cross-border-selling-issues) and make sure you’re in a position to benefit from cross-border selling instead of doing a poor job at it and giving any of your customers a frustrating or negative experience. 

“We’ve written a blog on [how to successfully sell cross-border](https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/cross-border-selling-issues), and some of the top tips include localizing content, selling on marketplaces like [Mercado Libre](https://www.bigcommerce.com/essentials/mercado-libre/), offering local payment methods and planning for shipping,” concludes Melissa.

If you’re ready to invest in cross-border selling this holiday season, here are four takeaways to keep in mind.

4 tips for cross-border selling

### 4. Great shipping and return policies are still essential 

As consumers move to do more and more of their shopping online, parts of the shipping experience that used to be an added bonus are starting to become expected from retailers. 

90% of consumers say free shipping is their [biggest incentive to continue shopping online](https://martech.org/e-commerce-report-9-10-consumers-say-free-shipping-no-1-incentive-shop-online/). And because customers can’t see or feel a product in their hands before purchasing, some of your online sales are always going to end up being returned. Consumers want a free and simple way to return the items they don’t end up wanting and failing to give it to them could mean losing their business in the future. 

As free shipping and returns become more standard, two new shipping offerings have started appearing as a great way to gain an edge over your competitors. Package tracking and shipping insurance. 

“Between the growth in eCommerce and the rise of lost and stolen packages, we’ve seen more and more of our merchants prioritize package tracking and shipping insurance with apps like [Route](https://route.com/merchants). And since the holidays are typically the time of year when package theft is more likely to occur, merchants can improve their customer experience by offering these options to their customers,” says Melissa Dixon, Director of Content Marketing at BigCommerce.

Offering these makes your brand look great, keeps your customers happy, and helps you beat the competition. 

3 ways to keep customers happy this holiday season

### 5. Use reviews to build trust and deliver great experiences

Today, [91% of people](https://www.vieodesign.com/blog/new-data-why-people-hate-ads) say ads are more intrusive than they were 3 years ago. One of the best forms of marketing a business can partake in is trustworthy [social proof and third-party validation](/reviews/build-trusted-brand/what-is-social-proof-and-why-is-it-important-for-marketing), because your customers’ opinions are more likely to be heard and considered by their peers than your own.

“It’s important to ensure your customers trust you when buying online, especially at this time of year. The best way to do this is to have honest and genuine reviews on your site. Today’s buyers are savvy – they’re looking for companies that have a mix of good reviews and not-so-good ones, to check how the company responds to, and improves, any bad experience a customer might have had. Doing your very best to offer your customers a great experience and service, and encouraging all buyers to leave a review, will help you build the trust needed to sell online this festive season,” reveals Jan Jivmark, our Head of Global Marketing.


eyeglasses.com quote

Consumers also love to compare businesses online to make sure they’re getting exactly what they’re looking for, especially during the holiday season. This only makes it more difficult for brands to stand out in a crowded space – that’s why offering great customer service and customer experiences can be a real differentiator. 

“In this highly competitive environment, the shift to digital-first delivery models has managed to keep both shoppers and customer service agents happy. The mainstreaming of AI bots has eased the load on query volumes and enabled agents to focus on delivering contextual and empathetic service. Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, or Facebook Messenger, that have high customer dwell time, have redefined convenience for shoppers.  Brands that will continue to win have unlocked the key to delighting customers with easy, fast, and intuitive digital-first customer service,” remarks [Freshworks](https://www.freshworks.com/?utm_source=ISV_Trustpilot&utm_campaign=Blog)’s Director of Growth Marketing, Abhishek GP. 

But providing great customer service means understanding your customers and your audience, their needs, and their wants. Reviews can help you collect [fresh consumer insights](/reviews/learn-from-customers/what-are-consumer-insights-and-how-do-i-use-them) and highlight areas of development, as well as identify opportunities to improve your existing customer experience and customer service, and grow consumer trust in your brand.

Rhiannon Williams, Partner Marketing Manager at [AmericanEagle](https://www.americaneagle.com/), concludes:

“During the holiday season, being able to provide a beneficial experience will go a long way in turning that browser into a long-time buyer. Customer service is a critical aspect of the overall customer experience; you can’t have a good customer experience if great customer service isn’t part of it. The holiday season means an abundance of pre-Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday sales. With the expected influx of traffic, it’s imperative to provide great online experiences.”


your holiday review strategy checklist

### 6. Purpose-driven businesses will thrive

There’s been a lot of talk about mission driven brands and ethical gifting lately, and it’s not going to be slowing down any time soon. 

“The trend toward making ethical purchases will continue to grow, despite other economic factors. Consumers feel good when they help others and help the planet,” confirms Mark Agnew, CEO & Founder [eyeglasses.com](https://www.eyeglasses.com/).

Believe it or not, there are so many ways for your brand to be a part of this, regardless of what you’re selling. 

Why not try partnering with charities or nonprofits this holiday season and giving a percentage of proceeds to that charity? If you’re a local business, you can take it a step further by partnering with local charities that will help right in the community you operate in. 

Alan Duncan, our VP of Brand and Consumer Marketing, points out that “The climate change conference COP26 takes place at the start of November and will put the environment at the top of the news agenda just as the holiday season reaches its peak. When you give a gift it also says something about you, so smart marketers from brands with a green agenda should be able to capitalise on this to shift purchasing behavior towards more ethical gifting.” 

Does your brand operate ethically and sustainably? If so, this is something you should be shouting from the rooftops about. Especially during the holiday season. The environment really matters to people and getting them a gift that they not only love but also reaffirms this to them is a great way to show you support the causes they care about. 

3 ways to start giving back this holiday season

### 7. Plan for increased consumer spending

Economies have started to [bounce back](https://www.wsj.com/articles/turbocharged-u-s-economy-attracts-foreign-investors-11624263520) and for most people out there, it feels like we’ve settled back into some sort of normality. And it’s not just consumers that have their [spending back on the rise again](https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-economy-grows-by-48-in-second-quarter-as-post-lockdown-reopening-drives-spending-spree-12379320). 

“With consumer confidence on the rise and ad spend from major brands bouncing back strongly I would expect to see luxury brands do particularly well this holiday period. People will be looking to have a much needed celebration with family and friends this year with the gifts to match. Another strong category is likely to be experience-based gifting. One member of a recent focus group said the daily Amazon delivery was pretty much all his family had to look forward to during lockdown and, like many others, may now have a house full of gadgets. Gifting the real life experiences they dreamt of during those dark times may now be a priority for gifting,” says Alan Duncan, our VP of Brand and Consumer Marketing.

Ad spend is carefully measured and planned, and major brands wouldn’t be investing their money here if they didn’t think it was going to pay off.

With all factors pointing to higher sales and spending this holiday season, make sure you’re focusing on providing an excellent customer experience overall. When products are running out, shipping delays are long, and customers are burnt out from shopping, those are usually the moments that a good – or bad – customer experience speaks the loudest. 


3 trends to be mindful of during the festive period

## ‘Tis the season for great customer experiences

In the last few months, the [global shift to online shopping](/guides-reports/learn-from-customers/understanding-covid-19s-impact-on-business-imagining-a-post-pandemic-world) has meant that customer service and customer experience have become a real necessity – not just a nice-to-have – for businesses who wish to stand out from the crowd.

So whether you’re an eCommerce business or a brick-and-mortar retailer, providing seamless shopping experiences will be crucial to your success this holiday season. 

But with the risk of the pandemic resurging, brands should be ready to welcome more changes over the next few months. 

“Many brands have learned to pivot their businesses at lightning speed over the past eighteen months. Keeping this agility over the coming months will be just as crucial. We may be hopeful that the pandemic will slowly but surely recede, but consumer behavior is likely to be even less predictable as new habits and old fight it out post-COVID,” says Alan Duncan, our VP of Brand and Consumer Marketing.

So as we head into another unusual festive season, the ability to understand your consumers and build trust with your audience will be more important than ever before. Investing in a review strategy can help you do just that, alongside our seven strategic tips.

__[Book your free Trustpilot demo now](/request-demo)__


Holiday Shopping: Trustpilot Holiday Report 2021

Trustpilot Consumer Insights: 7 Must-knows for this holiday season

Blue chalk dark bg

Banner - New Consumer Insights: 7 Must-knows for this holiday season

### New Consumer Insights: 7 Must-knows for this holiday season

[Read the report now](/guides-reports/learn-from-customers/7-must-knows-for-the-2021-holiday-season?cta=banner)

View Trustpilot's latest reports as we share industry data, whitepapers and research papers from verticals including automotive, finance, ecommerce and more.

Guides and reports | Trustpilot Business Blog

Guides and Reports

The complete guide to marketing with customer reviews: 2021 update

Trustpilot's complete guide to reviews

Marketing with customer reviews is a surefire way to build trust in your brand, and turn that into measurable ROI through increased web traffic and sales. In this practical guide, we'll show you 15 ways you can improve your marketing strategy with reviews.

I rely on reviews. You rely on reviews. 

We all rely on reviews. 

In fact, [consumer behavior](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/consumer-behavior-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-global-review-trends-by-industry) has evolved such that shoppers the world over are relying on reviews from their fellow customers to find the most up-to-date and accurate information about businesses in their local communities and beyond. 

So, if you’re wondering whether you could be doing more with customer reviews, know this: reviews can provide your business with so much more than feedback on your products and services. 

They're also a powerful marketing engine in their own right. Customer reviews are a way to build trust in your brand, and turn that brand trust into measurable ROI through increased web traffic, sales, and revenue. 

In this practical guide, we’ll show you exactly how to turn your customer reviews into better business results by putting them to work throughout your entire marketing strategy. 

And on the off chance you’re totally new to the world of reviews, we’ll start with a quick overview of their many benefits, and how they work together to propel business growth. 

## Why every business needs customer reviews and testimonials

We’ll keep this brief — the virtuous cycle of collecting reviews goes something like this: 

### 1. Build trust in your brand by collecting and responding to reviews.

Reviews are an opportunity for anyone familiar with your brand to publicly share what they love about your products, services, and [customer experience](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/5-reasons-why-customer-experience-is-the-pulse-of-every-business). So, having reviews publicly available conveys to potential customers that you’re safe to do business with.

Once you have some reviews about your business, you can:

### 2. Attract new customers by using reviews, ratings, and testimonials throughout your marketing strategy. 

Showing off your customer reviews is how you turn your hard-earned brand trust into measurable ROI. 

Whether you dream of becoming the search result they actually click, driving more traffic with your emails and ad creative, or converting more browsers into buyers on your site — [social proof](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-and-how-social-proof-influences-consumers) like reviews, star ratings, and testimonials can help with that. 

To meet the expectations of all the new customers you’ll attract from showing off your reviews, you’ll need to: 

### 3. Tap into the goldmine of fresh consumer insights within your reviews.    

You’ve built a trusted brand. You’ve attracted more customers than ever before by exuding trustworthiness in all of your marketing. Now you need to understand what all of your new customers thought about their experience with your brand. 

Reviews act like a window into the minds of your customers, allowing you to discover exactly what they want — and deliver it — so you can build customer loyalty, get even more customer feedback, and continue using that feedback to attract new customers.

Sounds good, right? It all begins with [getting reviews](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/get-reviews) for your business so you can start showing off the trust in your brand. 

This is especially easy for businesses built on major eCommerce platforms to get up and running thanks to Trustpilot’s native integrations for [Shopify](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/shopify-plus), [BigCommerce](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/bigcommerce), [WooCommerce](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/woocommerce), [Magento](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/magento-commerce), [PrestaShop](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/prestashop), [Shopware](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/shopware), and [OpenCart](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/opencart). 


complete-guide-to-reviews-img1

Trustpilot reviews displayed on a phone

## 15 Ways to use customer reviews in your marketing strategy

Once you’ve collected some reviews about your business, you can start showcasing the voice of the customer throughout your marketing strategy to increase organic traffic, dial up your paid digital campaign performance, and ultimately win more customers. 

## Improving organic SEO with customer reviews

With [91.5% of organic traffic](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101/seo-statistics/) going to sites listed on the first page of search engine results, we can’t overstate how important your organic search ranking is when it comes to attracting new customers. 

__With that in mind, here are five ways you can use customer reviews to improve your organic search rankings.__

### 1. Build strong off-page SEO by collecting reviews on a third-party platform. 

Off-page SEO describes any actions you take to build up a digital footprint outside of your actual website — whether it’s building credible backlinks to your pages, staying active on social media platforms, or even creating a profile on a [third-party review platform](https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/02/26/can-independent-review-platforms-make-google-love-site/) like Trustpilot. 


Off page SEO

off-page SEO diagram

Even though search engine algorithms are always evolving, the experts at [Moz](https://moz.com/learn/seo/off-site-seo) suspect that off-page SEO considerations like relevance, trustworthiness, and authority carry more than 50% of the ranking factor weight. 

Fortunately, building up your online presence with third-party reviews can help your business tick all three of those boxes. 

### 2. Drive more referral traffic from your Trustpilot business profile. 

On top of the off-page SEO benefits for your actual website, creating a profile on Trustpilot can also lead to a huge spike in referral traffic. 

That’s because when someone searches for reviews of a brand, they’re likely to find that brand’s Trustpilot [business profile page](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013930439-Introduction-to-your-company-profile-page) at the top of the search results. Why, you ask? 

We don’t mean to brag, but Trustpilot’s [domain authority](https://moz.com/learn/seo/domain-authority) is strong. So, the more reviews you collect — and the more you [enrich the content](https://support.trustpilot.com/hc/en-us/articles/202616716-Customize-your-company-profile) on your business profile page — the easier it will be for search engines to associate your brand with ours, and show your presence on Trustpilot right at the top of search results.

This could be your competitive advantage since referral traffic is so often overlooked — even though it’s a free source of qualified leads, and can even [improve your organic search performance](https://moz.com/blog/organic-traffic-without-ranking). 


Learn how TaxSlayer used their enriched business profile page to generate a 500% increase in referral traffic to their site.

### 3. Get more organic traffic by displaying customer reviews on your website.

Featuring customer reviews on key landing pages is easy to pull off with review widgets, and this small addition to your website can improve how often your pages show up in organic search results. 

That’s because reviews are a form of user-generated content, and UGC is SEO gold:

- __Reviews increase the amount of text on each page.__ This extra text makes your page more valuable in the eyes of Google because you’re offering them more context for what the page is really about — and whether it should surface for the user’s search query. 
- __The ratings associated with your reviews help Google understand the quality of your products and services.__ At the end of the day, Google wants to show the most reputable search results in hopes of delivering the best experience to their users. 
- __Review text adds fresh content to pages that might not otherwise get frequent updates.__ This tells Google that the information about your business is recent and up-to-date, and is therefore worth surfacing for the user’s search query.  

These elements work together to [help Google understand your website](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/why-does-google-care-if-your-business-has-online-reviews-in-2019). Over time this can lead search engines to show your pages in search results more frequently, and drive larger volumes of high quality traffic to your site.


reviews are great for SEO because they provide fresh content and long tail keywords, both of which Google loves

complete-guide-to-reviews-img4

Google search on a laptop

### 4. Earn review snippets in organic search with product reviews. 

When marketers think about star ratings in search results, paid listings usually come to mind — and we’ll get there in the next section. But most marketers don’t realize they can also earn star ratings on their organic search listings and appeal to those savvy shoppers who might be [less inclined to click-through an ad](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/can-online-reviews-revive-consumer-trust-in-advertising). 

As it turns out, collecting [Product Reviews](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/product-reviews) can help you qualify for [review snippets](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/get-seen-in-search/rich-snippets-stars-for-product-reviews-can-boost-seo) in organic search.  

And those shiny gold stars on your listings can help attract more attention to your product pages, and even improve your click-through rates by up to 35% in organic search. 

Not bad!

It’s not hard to do — our range of [eCommerce integrations](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/type/apps) allow you to make your Product Review data discoverable to search engines in just a few clicks that add some simple code (aka schema markup) to your product pages. This allows search engines to easily get a sense of your products’ overall ratings, and determine whether you meet their requirements for displaying review snippets. 

If your review stats meet [Google’s requirements](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/data-types/review-snippet), your product pages could appear with performance-enhancing review snippets in the SERPs. 


According to Conversion XL, review stars in search engine results can improve CTR by as much as 35%.

complete-guide-to-reviews-img5

According to ConversionXL, review snippets can improve click-through rate by as much as 35% in organic search

### 5. Rank for long tail search queries with product reviews.

Collecting product reviews can also amp up the SEO power on each of your product pages, and help you rank for a broader range of relevant keywords. 

It’s pretty straightforward. Allowing customers to leave reviews about your individual products — and putting them front and center on your product pages — can improve your site’s visibility for [long tail search queries](https://yoast.com/focus-on-long-tail-keywords/#:~:text=Focusing%20on%20long%2Dtail%20keywords,as%20they%20are%20more%20specific.), with no copywriting effort on your part.

Try as you might, thinking of every possible descriptor, use case, or problem your product solves can be difficult to say the least. Thankfully, product reviews let your customers become the copywriters, enabling them to share their own unique experiences with your products. 

The icing on the cake is that all this happens automatically — no extra copywriting or content creation for you.

## Enhancing paid digital campaign performance with customer reviews

Today’s consumers have seen it all — and many of them don’t want to see ads or slick marketing messages anymore. In fact, more than [75% of consumers](https://deloitte.wsj.com/cmo/2018/04/03/are-consumers-adlergic-a-look-at-ad-blocking-habits/) regularly use an adblocker.

To make matters even more challenging for digital marketers, research shows [fewer than 3 in 10 consumers](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/learn-from-customers/trustworthiness-in-advertising-what-consumers-have-to-say) report a solid level of trust towards digital advertising channels.  

__Fortunately, customer reviews and star ratings can enhance your digital campaign performance on the channels that have the [biggest influence](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/can-online-reviews-revive-consumer-trust-in-advertising) on consumer’s purchasing decisions.__

### 6. Qualify for Google Seller Ratings to improve Google Ads performance.

A close relative of review snippets in organic search, [Google Seller Ratings](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/get-seen-in-search/how-to-land-great-reviews-and-boost-your-google-seller-rating) are a one-stop-shop for:

- Adding a healthy dose of social proof to your paid search listings.
- Making your business stand out from the competition.
- And increasing click-through rate on your Google Ads campaigns.

A higher click-through rate often leads to increased sales, and will usually improve your [Quality Score](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/140351?hl=en) — meaning you’ll get traffic at a lower cost per click. This in turn gives you a lower cost per acquisition, and frees up more budget for the rest of your business.

Just keep in mind that whether Google Seller Ratings display on your paid search listings is up to Google’s discretion in line with their [latest guidelines](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2375474?hl=en) — which tend to stipulate that a business must have a certain number of reviews and a certain aggregate rating before those shiny gold stars will appear below your [Google Ads](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/browsers-to-buyers/why-wont-my-google-seller-ratings-show-up-and-4-other-gsr-questions).

Once you do earn them though, your [Google Seller Ratings](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/get-seen-in-search/how-to-land-great-reviews-and-boost-your-google-seller-rating) will appear in Google search results, Google Shopping listings, and even on Google search partners’ listings. 

So if you ask us, it’s worth setting yourself up to qualify for them.

### 7. Enhance your retargeting campaigns with customer testimonials, reviews, and ratings.

[Retargeting campaigns](https://blog.alexa.com/retargeting-vs-remarketing/) can straddle a range of platforms using paid ads to re-engage potential customers who have visited your website or social media profiles. 

No matter which platform you’re using to run a retargeting campaign, you can see a [performance improvement](https://business.trustpilot.com/customer-stories/finance-insurance/why-taxslayer-chose-trustpilot-to-leverage-customer-feedback) if you include your reviews and ratings in the ad creative. This can look like:

- Quoting an individual customer review.
- Using your overall rating in your ad creative.
- Showing off how many customers have rated you highly.

The best part? Highlighting your reviews in ad creative can be done without design skills (or even an in-house designer) with some help from Trustpilot’s social media [Image Generator](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/social-media-tools).

With retargeting, you’re putting ads in front of people who have some existing relationship with your business. The extra social proof you add to your retargeting creative might be the deciding factor that nudges customers to purchase from you.


Learn more about Trustpilot's social media tools. 

## Getting more from your email marketing with the voice of the customer 

Though it’s a tough number to pin down, email marketing experts estimate that the average person sends and receives [126 business emails per day](https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/knowledge-base/how-many-emails-does-the-average-person-receive-per-day/). That’s a whole lot of emails.

It’s easy to see why the average open rate for emails is about [22%](https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-benchmarks/) — and why it can be so challenging to cut through the noise with email marketing.

__Here are four ways you can let the voice of the customer do it for you.__

### 8. Boost email click-through rates by adding customer reviews and testimonials.

Every improvement in email click-through rate is going to drive more qualified traffic to your website and increase the odds of a conversion. So you might be interested to know that customer reviews can improve the click-through rate in all of your [marketing emails](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/browsers-to-buyers/4-email-marketing-strategies-to-unlock-black-friday-sales-volume-throughout).

Unlike channels with strict word counts and requirements for visual creative, with email you’re free to be creative with how you show off your reviews. You can even use them as the entire basis for different types of email content and CTAs. 

Whether you’re drafting a monthly newsletter, a seasonal product promotion, or a dynamic remarketing campaign – [highlighting a customer review](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/inside-trustpilot/social-proof-in-email-marketing-is-easier-than-ever-with-trustpilots-klaviyo) that’s directly related to your offer puts the social proof your customers crave right on a silver platter, and [increases the odds](https://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/email-marketing/2019/06/improve-your-ctr-using-social-proof/#:~:text=4.,a%2037.5%25%20increase%20in%20conversions.) that they’ll click-through to your landing page, and ultimately convert. 

And with [82% of shoppers](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-and-how-social-proof-influences-consumers) reporting that ratings and reviews in email marketing can make them more likely to purchase, that’s pretty promising.  

### 9. Let customer reviews do the talking in your welcome campaigns.

Welcome campaigns are your first opportunity to build a direct relationship with a future customer. Most of your email signups probably haven’t made a purchase yet, and they could even be brand new to your business.

This is your opportunity to convince them you’re a brand they can feel comfortable buying from — and it’s the perfect time to let your satisfied customers do the talking. 

Think of your reviews as a dynamic database of nuanced marketing content to make your campaigns as compelling as possible to your email audience segment. 

When you’re in the early stages of building a relationship with your future customers, it’s a good idea to: 

- Include a relevant customer review in each email, whether it’s about a specific product or your customer experience in general. 
- Feature your top-rated products and services based on your reviews. 
- Show off your brand’s personality by curating some surprising or funny customer reviews. 

This is just a sampling of the creative ways you can make a first impression through your customer reviews and generate warm responses to your email campaigns. 

### 10. Show off your trustworthiness in the email header, footer, and subject line.

Every email you send should include some proof of your trustworthiness. One easy way to achieve this is by including your star rating to your email template’s header, or adding a customer testimonial in the footer. 

With email [open rates](https://mailchimp.com/help/about-open-and-click-rates/) hovering around a modest 22%, it’s also in your best interest to lead with social proof right in the subject line. Here are some sample ideas to get you started:

*- "Our top reviewed products this month."*
*- "Thank you for making us a 5 star company."*
*- "5 ways we’ve used your reviews to improve our customer service."*
*- "Meet Sue, our top customer service rep."*
*- “We thought our teapots were great, your feedback has made them even better!”*
*- “The products you love.”*


Complete Guide to Reviews Quote Jillian Lore

Trustpilot logo Round Star BlueBG 420x420

Digital Marketing Specialist, Rush49

### 11. Abandoned cart emails are more effective with customer reviews.

No matter how watertight your online shopping journey is, abandoned carts are bound to happen. 

According to the experts at [Klaviyo](https://www.klaviyo.com/blog/whats-is-abandoned-shopping-cart-email), the average cart abandonment rate is about 70% on desktop and a whopping 85% on mobile — so it’s not surprising that abandoned cart email flows have become so popular. 

Many retailers rely on special offers and promotions in these email campaigns to lure would-be customers back to their website, but adding a testimonial, review, or rating can be more than enough to bring them back without compromising your precious margins.  

So if you’re putting together an abandoned cart email flow, consider including a few reviews about your customer experience or best-selling products to reassure any hesitant shoppers out there that your business is not only safe to buy from — but that there’s plenty to love about your brand.

No matter what type of email campaign you’re running, it’s easy to feature Trustpilot reviews with our integrations for major email providers like [Klaviyo](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/klaviyo), [Fresh Relevance](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/fresh-relevance), and [Movable Ink](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/movable-ink). 


Adding reviews to your cart abandonment email campaigns can boost CTR by up to 220%

complete-guide-to-reviews-img7

NewYorkDress saw a 220% increase in CTR after adding reviews to their cart abandonment emails

## Improving website conversion rates by putting customer reviews front and center

Today, [89%](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-things-every-business-owner-should-know-about-the-state-of-reviews) of consumers check online reviews throughout the online shopping journey. So, by the time a potential customer lands on your website, chances are they’ve already formed a first impression about your brand. 

If you want to make sure that first impression leads to a conversion, it’s a good idea to provide all the reassurance they need to click “BUY” right on your website. 

__Here are four ways to [improve your conversion rate](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/browsers-to-buyers/what-is-conversion-rate-optimisation) with customer reviews on your website.__

### 12. Use reviews to make a stellar first impression on your homepage. 

When you improve the trustworthiness of your marketing campaigns, you’re likely to drive a lot more qualified traffic to your website. If your goal is turning more site browsers into buyers, your website should be just as trustworthy as the marketing materials that led them there. 

When it comes to website optimization, the homepage is often overlooked in favor of product pages and the checkout page — and that’s a missed opportunity.

Even if the majority of your site visitors arrive via a specific landing page, there’s a good chance they’ll still want to check out your homepage, especially if they’re unfamiliar with your brand. 

With this in mind, try to highlight customer reviews as much as possible on your homepage. You could:

- Showcase the quality and quantity of your reviews — for example, *“We received 2,365 reviews this year, and 95% of customers gave us a 5/5”.*
- Feature 3-5 recent reviews to show off what your others love about your customer experience.
- Round up your most reviewed or highly rated products and services — for example, *“Here are some products our customers gave 5 stars”.*

Remember, your homepage is where site visitors turn to find [trust signals and other social proof](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/what-is-social-proof-and-why-is-it-important-for-marketing) for your brand — so don’t miss this opportunity to easily build trust with curious customers by showing off a highlight reel or some summary statistics about your customer reviews. 


complete-guide-to-reviews-img9

ThirftBooks have embedded customer reviews throughout the customer journey

### 13. Add review widgets to product pages to make the buying decision easy.

We’ve already established that product reviews are an SEO secret weapon — but they can also make [conversions skyrocket on your product pages](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/customer-stories/get-seen-in-search/ann-summers-uses-product-reviews-to-increase-sales-up-to-230). 

According to the experts at [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/blog/15359677-why-online-store-owners-should-embrace-online-reviews), 79% of online shoppers trust information shared in product reviews as much as a personal recommendation. And other studies have revealed that [product reviews are 12x more trusted](https://econsultancy.com/ecommerce-consumer-reviews-why-you-need-them-and-how-to-use-them/) than manufacturer or product descriptions. 

In short, [showing relevant reviews](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/trustbox-widgets) on product pages makes the buying decision easier for hesitant shoppers. 

That said, not all reviews carry the same weight. 

Research shows that shoppers want to see real product images from other customers (aka [user-generated content](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/product-reviews)) when they look at product reviews:

- Millennials trust user-generated content [50% more](https://www.iab.com/insights/user-generated-content-for-marketing-and-advertising-purposes/) than traditional media and think it’s 20% more influential on their purchasing decisions.
- Consumers are [3x more likely](https://www.iab.com/insights/user-generated-content-for-marketing-and-advertising-purposes/) to perceive user-generated content as authentic compared to content created by a brand.

So if your goal is to increase conversions on your product pages, make sure your product review provider gives customers an opportunity to share their own photos.

If you display these on your product pages, your conversion rate is sure to thank you. 

### 14. Add star ratings to the site header and footer to make every single page more trustworthy. 

Depending on what they searched to find your business, customers can land on almost any page on your site from the SERPs. With this in mind, every page is an opportunity to convince them to make the critical decision to purchase.

The easiest way to make sure your trustworthiness comes across loud and clear — no matter where visitors land on your site — is to add your star rating to your header or footer.

It’s a small change that can make a big difference.

### 15.  Reduce your exit rate by highlighting reviews and ratings on exit pages. 

Every journey has a start point and an end point — and if that end point isn’t the order confirmation page, you should take every opportunity to increase your conversion rate.

First, identify any pages with high exit rates by checking out your [exit page performance](https://www.paperstreet.com/blog/how-to-use-google-analytics-to-identify-exit-pages-and-improve-them/) in Google Analytics and noting which ones have high traffic and a high exit percentage. 

With exit pages, it’s worth taking the time to look at the actual page and see if you can spot a problem:

- Are there enough calls to action on those pages to keep people on the website?
- Is the page a dead end on the website?
- And of course, are there any customer review sentiments that might help keep people on this page?

Once you’ve ruled out other potential issues, it’s worth exploring any opportunity to show off relevant reviews on your exit pages — and Trustpilot’s [Review Tagging](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/review-tagging) feature makes this easy.

Here’s an example.

If your Delivery and Returns page has a high exit rate, you might start tagging reviews that mention delivery or returns so you can easily filter reviews by those keywords. This should make it easy to find a testimonial or two that sings your praises about delivery and returns — so you can feature them on your Delivery and Returns page. 

This tiny consideration could lead to a meaningful drop in your exit rate, and more conversions down the line. 

## Grow your business by amplifying the voice of the customer

If you made it this far, it should be clear that there’s an infinite number of creative ways you can integrate reviews into your marketing strategy to attract more customers — and make sure they actually convert. 

As we laid out at the beginning of this guide — customer reviews are all you need to kickstart a sustainable cycle of business growth. 

1. __Build trust in your brand__ by collecting and responding to reviews.
2. __Attract new customers__ by adding reviews to your marketing campaigns and across your website’s shopping journey. 
3. __Tap into the goldmine of fresh consumer insights__ within your steady stream of new customer reviews.

And then the cycle repeats, all because you put your customers at the heart of your marketing strategy. 

And if you really want to make the most of your customer reviews in your marketing strategy, focus on growing your [review collection](https://business.trustpilot.com/features/review-invitations) until your [social proof reaches critical mass](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/3-reasons-why-you-really-need-to-get-more-reviews). This makes it easier to highlight your reviews across your marketing channels, and eventually tailor your review curation to campaigns and product promotions.

So, the next time you approach a marketing campaign or a business challenge — whether it’s online or [offline](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/ratings-and-reviews-in-above-the-line-advertising) — ask yourself if customer reviews could be used to boost performance results.

You heard it here first: the answer is yes. 


Speak to one of our review experts today. 

7 Tried and Tested Conversion Strategies

According to research, in 2020, the average global conversion rate is [4%.31](https://www.invespcro.com/blog/the-average-website-conversion-rate-by-industry/). But in today's competitive landscape, it's getting harder for businesses to keep visitors engaged. So how can brands keep customers hooked and ensure their business generates more revenue?

In this guide, you’ll learn how to:
• Easily turn browsers into buyers
• Leverage your social proof to increase sales
• Use customer feedback to shape a great customer experience and encourage customer loyalty.

key cart abandonment statistics

## 1. Create an efficient checkout process

Needing as few steps as possible to actually complete the purchase process is a surefire way to increase conversions. Here are some of our top tips.

__Avoid complex clicks and unnecessary steps__

Make sure your checkout experience is completely linear - no confusing steps within steps. Never make objects clickable during the checkout phase so visitors get distracted and leave, abandoning their basket. You want the sole focus of the checkout page to be the checkout!

According to [VWO](https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/12/22/seven-fascinating-stats-on-ecommerce-and-cart-abandonment/), a confusing checkout is among the top five reasons for cart abandonment.

__Don’t push customers to register__

Make it optional to create an account. Some customers just want to buy their goods and be gone, and that’s fine. Have an express route for these shoppers. Baymard claims that [35%](https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate) of shoppers leave a purchase if they’re forced to create an account.

__Create a compelling checkout page__

We all like something to function and look good at the same time.

Think about the colours on your checkout page, the data fields you require, and even the calls-to-action you use. Don’t forget to add credibility to your checkout too by informing the customer what payment methods are accepted, or how secure their data actually is by adding security icons to your website.

Don't forget be clear about your final pricing so customers can see where their money is going.

__Reduce the amount of manual work__

A shipping address that is also the billing address by default can save the customer a lot of time in their purchase. You should also inform customers as early as possible if an item is unavailable or will be subject to delayed delivery, rather  than notifying them after they’ve gone through several steps.

Provide customers with a back button that leads to the previous page, so the customer doesn’t need to fill in their details again. Providing users with real-time support can also be a crucial tool to keep them on the path to completion.


## 2. Optimise your site for common web browsers

Different browsers – and even different versions of the same browser – see your site differently. When you’re designing your website, try to avoid to rely on browser-specific behaviour, and test its appearance and functionality on multiple browsers to make sure that all your visitors are getting the experience you’ve worked hard to create.

Once your site is up and running, be sure to retest at regular intervals and adapt where necessary. A site that is not regularly upgraded will not keep pace with new browsers or new versions of browsers affecting how the site is displayed. 

Don’t forget to consider your site’s overall accessibility. Not all users may have JavaScript enabled in their browsers and technologies such as Flash and ActiveX may not render well (or at all) in every browser. 

According to real-time web stats analysts [StatCounter](https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share), as of April 2020, the top five browsers by market share are:

- Chrome - 64%
- Safari - 13.6%
- Firefox - 4.21%
- Samsung Internet - 3.4%
- Edge Legagy - 2.23%


## 3. Optimise your site for mobiles and tablets

It’s no secret that mobile ownership and usage [has surpassed desktop](http://www.smartinsights.com/mobile-marketing/mobile-marketing-analytics/mobile-marketing-statistics/). 

Mobile marketing is arguably the closest you can get to the consumer, as there is no other device that is as personal or portable. 

If your website doesn’t automatically resize to fit the screen that it’s being viewed on, you are running the risk of losing a lot of business. More than this, Google might not consider your website as much if you avoid mobile adaptability, thanks to a 2015 update to their algorithms (popularly dubbed ‘Mobilegeddon’). Without a mobile-optimised site, your mobile discoverability will suffer.


## 4. Display online reviews to boost trust

There’s no better way to build consumer trust than by showcasing the experience of your customers with your company. 

Canvas8 research found that, in 2020, [89%](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/4-things-every-business-owner-should-know-about-the-state-of-reviews) of global consumers check online reviews as part of their online buying journey, and 49% of global consumers consider positive reviews one of their top 3 purchase influences.

Having customer feedback on display on your site gives customers the encouragement they need to complete a purchase. More than that, customer reviews give you unparalleled insight into customer trends. 

You might notice the same kind of feedback appearing again and again in reviews. If so, this tells you you’re either doing something great, or there’s something that requires attention. 

Make sure you’re encouraging customers to leave reviews - and quickly respond to all of them, whether they’re positive or negative. It shows that you are listening and that you care. No matter how great your product is, if people don’t trust you, they won’t want to engage with you. 

## 5. Use social media to drive online sales

Savvy ecommerce managers are now exploring social media as a tool to directly boost sales. Over a quarter of individuals say brands that are active on social media are more “human”, meaning they appear more approachable and helpful by having real conversations with customers online.

Don’t forget, there are customers and prospects out there ready to connect with you on social media. Here are some tips to transform your social media success. 

__Develop a content strategy for your social media channels__

Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin have become great vehicles for content, meaning brands are paying attention and making the space more competitive than ever. Make sure you have a well-thought out strategy around your messaging, what you want to promote, and how you’ll differentiate yourself.

__Use YouTube playlists to showcase your own products__

Cisco predicts that online video will account for [82%](https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-much-ip-traffic-will-be-video-by-2021-2017-6) of all web traffic by 2022. YouTube playlists allow channel owners to select which videos will play sequentially, so a company’s use of this tool enables it to present viewers with additional products they may be interested in, increasing potential sales. 

__Manage and monitor social media and customer feedback in one place__ 

To find succeed in social media, you need to effectively monitor it. Save time and energy by monitoring your online reviews and social media activity from one console. If you use Hootsuite, Trustpilot has just the [Hootsuite app for you](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/hootsuite).

__Share your customer reviews on social media__

Today, [90%](https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stats/) of people follow at least one business on Instagram. Instagram has become known as an ideal fit for eCommerce marketing. 

The social platform is often used as the discovery portion of the sales funnel. [83%](https://www.facebook.com/business/news/insights/how-instagram-boosts-brands-and-drives-sales) of Instagram users say they discover new products and services on the platform. That's why encourage businesses to share their customers' feedback on social channels too. 

It’s a great way to showcase great stories from your customers and convert prospective customers. If you're not sure where to start, check out Trustpilot's guide to [social media reputation management here](https://uk.business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/trustpilot-guide-to-social-media-reputation-management).

## 6. Dedicate staff to web design

If your company has separate departments or suppliers for marketing and web design, the responsibility for turning website visits into sales tend to fall between two camps. This can be bad news for any business hoping to turn their online investments into real profitability. 

A web designer is a technical expert who can dedicate their time to testing and retesting website variations to further optimise your website’s buying process. However, a marketer should have a unique understanding of the needs and wants of your customers, and therefore a valuable insight into what will convert visitors into clients or customers, and what won’t. 

Ideally, the staff dedicated to website conversions should have a background in both areas. Including financial incentives for reaching performance goals will also correlate in getting your conversion rates closer to where you’d like them to be.

If you’re working within a smaller budget, consider investing in a professional developer, or try Shopify, the leading e-commerce website building tool. With [Trustpilot’s online review app for Shopify](https://business.trustpilot.com/partners/shopify-plus), so you can design a sleek site that displays customer feedback in no time at all. 

## 7. Consider a retargeting strategy

Retargeting can help reduce shoppers’ concerns and turn hesitant visitors into happy customers.

Start by determining which shoppers have added something to their cart, but haven’t completed their purchase. Once you have identified your audience, it’s important to decide how long you want to target cart abandoners. 

Reaching consumers as soon as they abandon is a must, but the length of time you target them should be determined by the products your business sells. Bigger purchases such as furniture, holidays, or electronics can have a longer consideration cycle, whereas other products like clothes or cosmetics don’t usually have a very long decision-making cycle.

__SMS retargeting__

According to Search Engine Watch, SMS messages are more effective than emails. Consider sending a reminder to cart abandoners. Typically, [90%](https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/12/22/seven-fascinating-stats-on-ecommerce-and-cart-abandonment/) of all SMS messages are opened, and 90% are read within 3 minutes.

It’s a great way to convert those hesitant shoppers, but if you’d rather use display retargeting, here are some of our top tips.

__Display retargeting done right__

- Test the kinds of displays to show cart abandoners - personalised, or static? 
- Use a promotional offer like free shipping to increase conversions 
- Offer a discount on future products to encourage a repeat purchase.


## Key Takeaways

By now, you should have a long to-do list to ensure you’re optimising your eCommerce business for conversions and efficient checkouts. But if you need a cheat sheet, here’s a quick list of key points. 

Turn your ecommerce conversion rates around by: 

- Making sure your checkout process is optimally designed  
- Optimising your site for mobiles and tablets 
- Using social media to drive online sales 
- Making sure your site is optimised for your visitors’ browsers 
- Using online reviews widgets to boost trust 
- Assigning responsibility for online performance and conversion goals to a dedicated member of staff.

If you'd like to learn more about Trustpilot and how reviews can help you amplify your marketing efforts, request a free demo below.

7 Tried and tested conversion strategies

Skift travel report with Trustpilot

From the time travelers start planning a trip, to the moment they complete their booking, reviews help impact multiple stages of the purchase decision, allowing travel brands to gain visibility with potential buyers, establish their credibility, and help influence the ultimate purchase decision.

In 2019, Trustpilot and Skift launched an online consumer survey to investigate the role reviews play in travel purchase decisions. An overwhelming 88 percent of survey respondents said reviews played an
important role in influencing their purchase. And other sources back this up: [Data from So Connect](https://soconnect.com/blog/why-online-reviews-matter/) found that 49 percent of bookers would not book a hotel that has no reviews, and 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

Though reviews are an essential component of the travel buying experience, many companies are missing an opportunity to use them more strategically. To do this, they need to take a step back from managing individual reviews and instead focus on the bigger picture: the hidden patterns and unexpected insights currently locked away inside of their review data. The travel industry now has tools to access these review insights, unlocking a wealth of opportunities to supercharge companies of all sizes.

### How important are other customers’ reviews in your decision about whether or not to buy a travel product?

Figure 1

It’s not just about having a five-star rating on the website,” said Glenn Manoff, senior vice president, Communications & Brand at Trustpilot. “It’s about everything from brand reputation to product development. Reviews offer businesses the opportunity to improve their services through continuous feedback, engage in an honest dialogue with customers, and use positive sentiment to drive further business.

This new approach has significant benefits. First, it allows travel brands to spend more time amplifying the positive feedback they already receive from satisfied customers. This builds credibility with potential buyers and reinforces the fact that they are open and transparent with customers. In addition, this approach can help brands better prioritize which reviews are likely to have the biggest impact on their reputation and then share them to the right teams to quickly handle resolution. Last but not least, it creates opportunities to uncover a treasure trove of customer insights that can help improve the personalization of marketing campaigns, inform product development efforts, and even provide new metrics to help evaluate company success.

What review strategies are travel brands already using to gain these benefits? Which companies are ahead of the curve in deploying these strategies to boost their success? Finally, what review-focused technologies can they use to make these strategies possible? We’ll investigate these questions and more in “Five Unique Review Strategies to Grow Your Travel Business,” offering those in the industry new opportunities to boost customer satisfaction, streamline operations, and increase profitability in the process.

## Strategy 1: Gaining customer insights and improving personalisation

In the current travel eCommerce environment, it’s essential to understand what customers want and need. Yet many travel companies struggle to use customer data to personalize their advertising, products, and services. According to the results of Skift and Adobe’s 2018 Digital Transformation Report, one-third of travel executives rated their companies’ personalization efforts as four points or higher on a five-point scale.

But now, travel companies have the tools to apply what they know about customers to generate actionable insights. This is possible thanks to the analytical capabilities embedded in today’s review management platforms.

As we’ll explain below, these capabilities provide travel marketers with a more holistic view of their customers’ wants, needs, and behaviors. With this information in hand, they can build more detailed customer profiles, develop more relevant offers, and cultivate ongoing relationships with travelers.

### How travel brands use review data to connect the dots

One way travel brands now use review data to improve personalization is within targeted customer email campaigns. Luxury travel company Butterfield & Robinson (B&R) utilizes review data to improve its email marketing messages for various trip products. “You can actually put in specific reviews that are related to the email content, which we found to be quite effective,” said Michael Bertrand, acquisition marketing manager for B&R. “When we’re sending an email on a specific trip, and we have a very powerful review on that trip, we’re going to feature that in the email.”

Another organization using reviews to support guest personalization is the French hospitality group, Accor. The company collects all guest reviews in a central database. This data is then available to employees, who use it to provide a more consistent experience to guests regardless of which Accor hotel they visit. “It gives our frontline employees the necessary information that they need in order to personalize the guest experience,” said Alison Broussy, vice president of customer experience and reputation guest services for the brand. 

This review-powered process has another benefit: It’s helping Accor cultivate an ongoing relationship with their guests by connecting the dots across properties, service lines, and transactions. “It’s all about building that complete experience rather than just the in-hotel experience,” said Broussy.

### Review tools help identify insights at scale

How do B&R and Accor identify the right insights to inform their personalization efforts? While it’s true that some companies do it manually by analyzing individual reviews, this can be a time-consuming process. Instead, more brands are now relying on insight analysis tools built into review platforms, which help them identify hidden patterns within the data. 

One example is Trustpilot’s Review Insights technology. The tool uses machine learning technology to uncover hidden patterns in customer sentiment and topics surfacing across multiple reviews. These patterns can then be used to deliver more precise marketing messages when it’s time to reengage existing and potential customers. 

Trustpilot’s Review Tagging dashboard can also help marketers organize the various insights scattered among different customer reviews. Tagging can attach a phrase or keyword to a review, marking that information so it can be easily tracked. In the context of personalization, a travel brand might use the feature to tag reviews related to specific demographic groups that value the brand differently, or by destination, which can help marketers get a sense of which trips had the best or worst reviews.

“If the brand knows the type of content that the person commented on in the review, there’s a couple of ways to help analyze that,” said Brandon Till, senior director of product marketing for Trustpilot. “You might segment it based on either your customers … whether it’s a man or a woman, or if it’s a family trip. Or maybe this is a romantic vacation? Tagging can inform the different types of packages they might offer.”

And for those travel brands using third-party business intelligence tools, Till says it’s easy to then export tags for further analysis. “The company
could download and analyze it using their own business intelligence tool. We also have dashboards where people can compare the different tags to one another to see what’s overperforming.” 

## Strategy 2: Monitoring and delivering customer service in real time

In today’s fast-paced consumer environment, travelers expect real-time responses when they make complaints or have a problem. One recent study from Hubspot found that 82 percent of consumers [expected an immediate answer](https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/07/real-time-response-to-customers.html) to their queries and suggestions. And additional 2016 research from Trustpilot found that 81 percent of travel consumers will not buy a vacation from a company known to have poor customer service.

In order to quickly address problems, travel marketers need better strategies to monitor reviews, designate the right team to handle the issue, and provide quick resolution. When problems are handled quickly and appropriately, consumers are quick to forgive. Fifty-seven percent of respondents in Skift and Trustpilot’s survey said they were less likely to leave a bad review if the company tried to fix the problem during their trip.

### Imagine you have a problem with a travel company during a trip. How likely are you to still leave a bad review if the company tries to fix the problem during your trip?

Figure 2

### Building a system to provide real-time support

UK-based travel company Trailfinders has recognized the importance of rapid response and has designated a specific team to provide timely support if customers have a problem while on their trip. “We have a specialist team here that handle client issues that have been raised while they’re away,” said Lee Holden, digital marketing manager for Trailfinders.

Marketers also need to follow up with the reviewer to confirm that the issue has been addressed. “We will often say to clients, ‘Are you happy that your
issue has been resolved?,’” said Trailfinders’ Holden. “That generally leads to a conversation where, if it has now been resolved and they’re happy, then they’ll take a fresh look at their review.”

Among the marketing agencies that work with travel industry clients, some say that it’s important to follow-up with customers who offer feedback whenever possible to gather additional details. “If you’re seeing one-off comments, that’s one thing. But act if you’re seeing people complaining over
and over that ‘The beds are uncomfortable,’” said Jennifer Baum, of marketing agency Bullfrog + Baum. “Reach out. If you can get people to talk more and give you more details offline...then you can create a strategy.”

### How review tools can streamline the response process

In order to streamline the response and monitoring process, many review platforms provide marketers with tools to gather feedback throughout the customer journey. This includes features such as:

- Automatic email invites sent to customers during key moments in their trip
- Embedded review forms that live on company websites
- Customer data APIs to help synchronize review data with customer data found in email programs and CRM software. 

By providing more ways to collect reviews, travel brands can make it more likely that travelers will share their input when it’s most convenient for them.

And as the number of reviews grows, it’s equally important to consider software-based monitoring solutions, which help summarize feedback and notify the right team. “A successful business may get 1,000 reviews a day, right? So, it’s going to be very hard to understand which ones it has to pay
attention to,” said Ramin Vatanparast, Trustpilot’s chief product officer. “As soon as reviews come in, the system automatically analyzes them, groups them together, and informs the person in that department.”

Furthermore, integrations with customer service tools like Zendesk make it easier to flag and share notable reviews with the appropriate support personnel. “We can route these reviews into different help desk systems in real time, so that customers who are out traveling or at an airport can get
responses from companies quickly,” said Trustpilot’s Brandon Till.

Once the issue has been fixed, travel companies should also ask the customer to update his or her review. Consumers that post on review platforms like Trustpilot “own” their reviews, making it easier to modify their original rating, or add additional information. This is a great way to turn a previously negative review into a positive recovery.

## Strategy 3: Informing product research and evolution

Many in the travel industry recognize the potential of innovation to help grow their business and satisfy customer needs. But testing new innovations can also be expensive and risky. That’s why review data is the perfect way to investigate the viability of new innovations before they are released to the general public. 

Reviews already have a strong connection to the innovation process. According to the [2018 Global Innovation 1000](http://usblogs.pwc.com/industrialinsights/2018/11/28/what-makes-an-industrial-company-stand-above-its-peers/) study conducted by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, successful innovator companies “base innovation on direct insights from end users.” And in Skift and Trustpilot’s consumer
survey, 73 percent of respondents said they were more likely to leave honest feedback if they knew travel brands planned to act on the suggestions.

### How likely are you to leave honest feedback in a review if you know a travel brand will act upon your suggestions?

Figure 3

Furthermore, providing feedback is a key motivator for customers to share feedback in the first place. Close to 25 percent of respondents in the Skift and Trustpilot study said the reason they posted reviews was “to help the company improve its products."

### What are your primary reasons for writing reviews to travel brands?

Figure 4

### How travel brands turn reviews into product ideas

Trailfinders is one travel company that draws inspiration from reviews for future product development. The company’s travel packages frequently require collaboration with local supplier partners in each destination. The Trailfinders “watch team” monitors review data and periodically feeds it to the product team and any relevant suppliers who can take action on the insights.

“It’s largely a matter of us making sure that anything relevant gets moved on to the decision makers in the company,” said Trailfinders’ Holden.

And at Accor, consumer reviews help reinforce company decision making about everything from guest recommendations to content marketing programs, allowing them to improve the activities, itinerary suggestions, and marketing materials they then provide to future guests. 

“We can push a little further to get more feedback from our customers on what they actually did while they were in town while they were on property,” said Accor’s Broussy. “It can be used as content for generating revenue and more information on the destination than the actual property itself.”

Yet another example is Booking.com. The online travel agency gathers detailed hotel review data from guests, who are asked to review specific aspects of hotel properties. Room cleanliness, quality of hotel facilities, and the in-room amenities are just a few of the metrics that are investigated. This information is then shared with hotel owners, who are encouraged to take action to address the findings.

### Finding product improvements by identifying patterns

It’s possible that a marketer might stumble upon a single review that leads to a brilliant product idea. But rather than relying on luck to find these
insights, more companies in the travel industry now find these insights by using machine learning software, which can pick up on patterns and common phrases used across multiple reviews.

“You can analyze your reviews and try to get those signals,” said Trustpilot’s Vatanparast. One way this might work is if a hotel discovered a repeated pattern of guest reviews which had negative comments about the bed. “If everybody is complaining about the small beds, or uncomfortable beds, that’s a sign that I have to do something about my beds,” said Vatanparast. “Maybe make them bigger, if that’s the sentiment around it. Or, make them more comfortable.”

## Strategy 4: Proactively managing online reputation

A travel brand’s reputation plays a critical role in establishing credibility and trust with potential customers. But in recent years, trust in brands has been declining. According to the [Edelman Trust Barometer](https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2018-10/2018_Edelman_Trust_Barometer_Global_Report_FEB.pdf) study, less than half (48 percent) of the public said they trusted businesses, a number which declined from 58 percent the year prior. Another [study by Moz](https://moz.com/blog/new-data-reveals-67-of-consumers-are-influenced-by-online-reviews) found that businesses lose as many as 22 percent of customers after just one negative article is found online. In this environment, it’s essential for travel brands to promote review content in ways that reinforce consumer trust and help boost their reputations. 

### Amplifying positive reviews to improve discovery

The biggest opportunity for travel brands looking to burnish their reputation is to share positive reviews more widely. Tour operator Trailfinders uses its reviews on Trustpilot as an easily scalable marketing
asset. “We’re lucky enough to be rated number one for travel by Trustpilot, so we use that as a tagline, and depending on the advertisement, we might use excerpts and quotes from happy clients,” said Trailfinders’ Holden.

Trailfinders has integrated this five-star customer rating into a number of marketing channels. The company includes the endorsement in national newspaper ad campaigns, as well as within paid search campaigns on Google. Holden notes his team saw an increase in ad click-through rates after incorporating reviews into their display advertisements. The Trailfinders’ rating also shows up in the form of a carousel TrustBox “widget” that makes it possible to showcase customer reviews on the company’s website. 

Promoting this positive reputation is beneficial not just for existing customers, but for potential customers as well. “It’s putting us in front of new clients,” said Holden. “We were already engaged with our clients and trying to do the best we could in terms of responding to them as quickly as we could. What Trustpilot has given us is the opportunity to talk about that in the public arena in a way that the public trusts.”

Many travel brands also find that social media and paid search offer a powerful opportunity to put their positive customer ratings in front of consumers when they’re looking for company information. “If people are already looking to validate how good a company is, they’re going to search for reviews, and they’ll find them naturally on Facebook and Google,” said B&R’s Bertrand.

Bertrand says the company has found success integrating its positive feedback into Google Ads campaigns. As he notes, Trustpilot is one of a select group of trustworthy review partners Google allows to be featured in such efforts. “One of the big selling points was, I want to take advantage of seller ratings in Google Ads. To do that, you actually have to use a third-party,” he said.

### Using review tools to reinforce authenticity and transparency

Managing online reputation isn’t just about promoting good feedback. As more travel brands recognize, it’s also important to focus on review platforms that emphasize transparency and don’t allow them to hide negative reviews.

By focusing on these so-called “open” platforms, companies can signal that they have nothing to hide, helping to boost buyer trust and increasing their overall reputations. This stands in contrast to more “closed-loop” platforms, which hypothetically provide more control over which reviews are highlighted, but have hidden costs in the form of increased consumer skepticism. “If they are working with closed-loop platforms, then they have to manage online reputation by themselves,” said Trustpilot’s Vatanparast. “But, if they’re working with us, it’s much easier because we’re building all of our services and functionality around that transparency and trust.” 

One example of a product Trustpilot offers to reinforce trust is a tool called [Transparent Flagging](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/inside-trustpilot/creating-a-culture-of-transparency-and-trustworthiness-with-trustpilots-new). The feature adds data to the company profile page of any brand on Trustpilot, indicating the number of reviews the company has “flagged” (for violating platform guidelines), how many of those contested reviews were ultimately posted to the profile page versus deleted, and an indication about whether the contested reviews were found to be in breach of the guidelines.

“Providing this level of transparency helps businesses grow brand trust where needed and incentivizes good behavior,” said Stine Mangor Tornmark, senior vice president legal & compliance at Trustpilot. “We continue our commitment to combat any attempts to game the system and our fight for a reviews industry where businesses should not be allowed to censor what people can see and share.”

## Strategy 5: Redefine success metrics to include customer satisfaction scores

Travel brands already analyze their performance using metrics such as profit margin, occupancy rate, or revenue. But these measurements don’t always provide a comprehensive snapshot of the value the company creates for customers.

Consider the findings of a 2012 Harvard Business Review article titled, “The True Measures of Success,” in which author Michael J. Maubossin argued that companies “...need to assess nonfinancial measures such as customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, and product quality, and determine if they can be directly linked to the financial measures that ultimately deliver value.”

With this in mind, more travel brands are starting to incorporate metrics related to customer satisfaction and reviews into how they measure performance.

### How travel brands use reviews to measure company success

Accor is one example of a hospitality brand that uses review scores as a yardstick to understand the company’s progress toward key business goals. As company executives note, they keep track of a company-wide online reputation metric that is available to stakeholders across the organization.

“We have one major e-reputation score, used across our network, which enables us to manage the performance of our hotels at an individual level,” said Accor’s Broussy. “It’s part of our customer-centric approach. Even the support staff in our head offices is motivated by the overall experience that our customers are having with our products in the hotels.”

Even more important, Accor believes these positive guest satisfaction scores are closely correlated with online conversion rates for its hotels. “It’s a clear driver for web conversion,” said Broussy. “We closely follow the conversion rates for how customers that have consulted reviews for a particular hotel convert versus those that don’t.”

### Picking the right customer satisfaction metrics

As travel brands reevaluate how they measure success, they will increasingly need to consider how they can expand the range of indicators they use. For instance, indicators like the [Net Promoter Score](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_Promoter), which gauges customer loyalty, offer one potential option.

There’s also Trustpilot’s own “TrustScore” metric, which calculates customer satisfaction levels using an algorithm which blends both a company’s star rating and recency of reviews. Each individual indicator offers a specific view of success, and the best results can be achieved by combining various
views to create a holistic approach to brand success.

Another opportunity involves tracking changes in consumer sentiment over time. “You can choose 10 sentiments and follow the trend of those sentiments,” said Trustpilot’s Vatanparast. “Then you receive a report automatically, by email, on a weekly basis, which tells you what sentiments were positive or negative, and what are the areas of improvement. This means you don’t necessarily need to go through all the reviews. Trustpilot is doing the heavy lifting.”

## Conclusion

Reviews play a critical role in how travel brands boost their reputations and drive online business success. But even as more companies in the travel
industry internalize this message, many are still missing the larger opportunity. Reviews are not just something to monitor and manage. In order
to succeed and thrive in today’s highly competitive online travel ecosystem, travel brands need to think more strategically about the role review data
can play in helping achieve their business goals.

Today, a new review strategy is emerging. Thanks to powerful pattern analysis software and filtering tools, travel marketers can use review data to uncover unexpected insights into their customers’ habits and desires. This can help them unearth new product ideas or even to better personalize
the products and services they sell. It will allow them to quickly identify customer issues and respond before the complaint becomes a bigger problem for their brand. They will be able to easily promote positive reviews to potential customers, helping their company get discovered in customer searches. They can even use the data to capture a more accurate picture of their business success.

But in order to reap these benefits, those in the travel industry need to adopt a new mindset. Travel consumers are going to leave reviews, whether
those in the industry like it or not. The question those executives need to ask themselves is if they’ve put in place the proper tools and systems to listen, understand, and then act on what’s been said. “People are taking the time to post a review,” Baum said. “They often just want to be heard.”

__About Skift__

Skift is the largest intelligence platform in travel, providing media, insights, marketing to key sectors of the industry. Through daily news, research, podcasts, and Skift Global Forum conferences, Skift deciphers and defines the trends that matter to the marketers, strategists, and technologists shaping the industry. SkiftX is Skift’s in-house content marketing studio, working collaboratively with partners like Adobe, Airbnb, Hyatt, Lyft, Mastercard, and many more on custom projects to engage the world’s largest audience of travel influencers and decision makers.

5 Unique review strategies to grow your travel business

Visual banner for the report "Brand Integrity: The new frontier for marketing"

Brand integrity report main image

### Thank you! Your report will be sent to you by email

Thank you for submitting your details. You'll receive the report to your email shortly. Keep your eyes on your inbox!

Grey lightest BG - No image

Your copy of *Brand Integrity: the new frontier for marketers* will be sent to the email address provided shortly. 

Thank you for entering your details! 

Brand integrity report download form

TABLET - 80px top 80px bottom

GENERIC - 40px top 40px bottom

Our new report Brand integrity: the new frontier for marketing explores consumer expectations surrounding purpose-driven brands, including which social, political and environmental stances make them more or less likely to buy from or recommend a brand.

The consumer research uncovers: 

- How much a brand’s purpose matters to consumers today
- The top social, political and environmental stances consumers consider when making a purchase 
- Which factors make consumers less likely to buy from a brand
- Which information sources consumers check to find out if brands live up to their claims 


Brand integrity: the new frontier for marketing

Truspilot 5 trends that will define the future of fashion

Trustpilot 5 trends that will define the future of fashion

A survey from London Research and Trustpilot has shown that fashion shoppers are more cautious on spending this year, and are also acutely aware of the need to buy items from fashion brands with strong ethical and sustainability practices.

[London Research](https://www.londonresearch.com/) and Trustpilot's latest international survey has shown that not only are fashion shoppers more cautious on spending this year, they are also acutely aware of the need to buy items from fashion brands and retailers with strong ethical and sustainability practices.

Fashion brands and retailers now have an opportunity to reach out to consumers who are actively seeking to shop from companies that are kind to the people working in their supply chains, as well as the environment.

Those seeking to market themselves to modern shoppers need to listen to what consumers have revealed they are looking for in sustainable and ethical brands, as outlined in this research.

### Five key trends that will define the future of fashion brands

__1. Four in five customers are led by ethics__

Size and fit are not the only priorities. Fashion brands and retailers need to be aware that treatment of workers across their entire supply chain and environmental footprint are now a vital part of a customer’s purchasing decisions. 

More than four in five customers (82%) reveal they would definitely (31%) or probably (51%) stop buying from a brand found to be lacking ethical standards. 

__2. Shoppers are cautious on spending__

The recession looming over the global pandemic is shaping fashion spending habits. Just under three-quarters of consumers (72%) are spending less or the same as they did before.

As befitting markets where many are working from home, casual clothing and leisurewear is the category with the highest proportion of consumers having increased spend (21%). This figure is nearly double that seen in formal wear or luxury items.

__3. Fashion shoppers trust reviews and each other__

Consumers are eager to seek out fashion brands and retailers with solid ethical and sustainability strategies.

They are getting advice on which brands meet these criteria from many sources, but they trust each other above all else – 89% of consumers have a high or medium trust level in word of mouth and 85% in ratings and reviews.

The levels of high trust placed in word of mouth and reviews are two to three times greater than other sources, such as magazines, advertising and brand websites. The least trusted source is celebrity influencers. People are three times as likely to highly trust ratings as they are a well-known figure touting a fashion product on social media.

__4. Fashion shoppers are acting on a brand’s ethical record __

The research found brands must not think of ethics as an issue to be addressed in the future. Shoppers are already acting on their concerns right now. More than half (54%) of consumers say that coverage of working conditions and sustainability policies has influenced where they buy, or don’t buy, fashion items.

Nearly as many (41%) have been steered by coverage of a fashion retailer’s diversity and inclusivity policy and 33% by a brand pretending to be ethical but not backing it up with real action (‘slacktivism’).

Given that consumers trust word of mouth and customer ratings three times or two times (respectively) as much as the media, savvy brands should realize the need to communicate how their ethical and environmental strategies match the modern shopper’s concerns. This way, those credentials are more likely to be reflected in customer conversations and ratings.  

__5. Brands can tap into consumers’ ethics and sustainability wishlist__

Customers have revealed what they want to see from fashion brands and retailers. Joint top spot (46% each) goes to a commitment to good working practices throughout the supply chain as well as to environmentally-friendly packaging. A recycling service (41%) was just behind in third place.

Feeling inspired? Let's dive in!

## Introduction – cautious consumers tell brands their values are more important than discounts

Consumers are changing their mindset and behavior when it comes to buying clothes, and the effects are set to be profound for fashion brands and retailers.

The national and local lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic have accelerated a change in attitude among shoppers to be more caring for one another and the environment. Communities have come together to fight a common foe and taken stock of the values they find important to them, which they want to see reflected in the brands they buy from.

This prompted London Research, in association with Trustpilot, to ask fashion consumers in the UK, the US, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Sweden to reveal the importance of brand values around issues such as sustainability, working conditions and diversity. What principles do they expect fashion brands and retailers to live up to? 

Just as importantly, how do they know they are truly committed to these causes, and whom do they trust in making those judgement calls?

### Sustainability over discounts

[Research from McKinsey](https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/survey-consumer-sentiment-on-sustainability-in-fashion) has already shown lockdown has forced fashion consumers’ priorities to change. They now place the welfare of employees and supply-chain workers, as well as protecting the environment, way ahead of being offered promotions and discounts.

This points to a significant change in consumer priorities, according to fashion writer Olivia Pinnock. She has created a series of events, called [The Fashion Debates](http://www.thefashiondebates.com/), through which the industry can come together to discuss how to clean up an industry with a poor record on worker conditions and sustainability.

“We had the sweatshop scandals of the ‘80s and ‘90s but the issue seemed to have been swept under the carpet,” she says.

“Now, though, we’ve got a generation who realize they can’t ethically buy a T-shirt for £5 when there are so many people in the supply chain to pay. There are also a lot of executives who are pushing for real change because they have been shocked by the industry’s record and don’t want to be a part of it any more.”

Pinnock believes the push for change is real and is relying on changing attitudes among shoppers. However, there are two major challenges.
“Fast fashion’s cutting corners on worker rights and the environment has got us all used to cheap clothing,” she explains.

“It’s skewed our perception of cost. Then there’s availability. The vast majority of clothes, outside a pandemic, are bought in stores and it’s only the big chains, who are highly competitive on price, that can afford to roll out chains of shops in every town.”

### Consumers are cautious on spend

It is not surprising that in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, the majority of respondents are not spending more on fashion. Instead, they are maintaining previous spending patterns or cutting back. 

On average, 28% of respondents say they are spending more. That leaves exactly a quarter who are spending the same amount as before (25%) and nearly half (47%) who reveal they are cutting back (Figure 1).


Figure 1: How has the coronavirus pandemic impacted your overall monthly spending on fashion and clothing products?

As shown in Figure 2, the standout category for increased spending is casual and leisure clothing (21% of consumers), nearly double the percentage of respondents spending more on luxury apparel (11%) and significantly more than the proportion of consumers increasing their outlay on smart clothes (13%).

Across all international markets surveyed, those going through lockdown and social distancing measures have clearly been prioritizing comfortable attire for home use over spending on formal clothes for the office or expensive luxury items for big nights out.


Figure 2: How has the Covid-19 crisis impacted the amount you’ve spent on the following types of fashion and clothing products?

- Consumers in the US are more likely than those in other countries surveyed to be increasing their spending on casual clothes (28%), footwear (20%), smart fashion (20%) and luxury products (15%) (Figure 9, see appendix).
- The UK, on track to have its worst economic downturn on record, leads the way for the most cautious shoppers. Just over a fifth (22%) reveal they’ve been cutting fashion spending by more than half (Table 1, see appendix).

### More careful? Or more thoughtful?

Consumers are clearly cautious when it comes to fashion spending. It will become clearer when the developing global recession caused by the global pandemic eases whether this is an economic decision or an environmental choice.

Dialing down consumption is what Olivia Pinnock refers to as ‘the elephant in the room’. In addition to looking out for fair trade labels and commitment to ethical and environmental standards, she believes modern consumers will soon realize they need to buy fewer clothes.

It is a message echoed by Laurel Wolfe, VP of Marketing at deferred payment platform [Klarna](https://www.klarna.com/).

“The pandemic has made us all think carefully about how, where and why we shop - whether that's online instead of in-store, or with smaller, local brands.” she says.

“For us, this has meant helping people be mindful consumers, to ensure they buy items they will truly use and love. We have been running campaigns, particularly with thought influencers, echoing the money management advice on our site and asking shoppers to ‘think thrice’. Do I love it, will I use it, is it worth it?” 

The message underlines how the market is evolving to row back from the days of fast fashion by being more considerate in how workers in the supply chain are treated and mitigating the industry’s impact on the environment.

## People trust ratings and each other, not celebrities and magazines

People are clearly cautious about their spending, given the massive uncertainty hanging over the global economy. With budgets curtailed, consumers are looking to make sure the items they buy are right for them. This no longer means right look, size and price.

As shown through our survey, customers are attracted to brands that share their ethical values and are kind to their workers and the planet.
With ethics, sustainability and environmentalism playing a large part in purchasing decisions, who are people trusting for guidance on purchasing decisions?

Here, the research provides a resounding answer. Consumers trust one another. Word of mouth from friends and family is the most trusted source, with 44% rating their trust level as ‘high’. Consumer ratings and reviews (36%) is a close second (Figure 3).


Figure 3: How would you describe your level of trust in the following sources of information when you are researching fashion products and retailers?

In all, 89% of consumers have a high or medium level of trust for word of mouth compared to 85% for ratings and reviews.

The two categories are two or three times as highly trusted as other high-profile sources of fashion information, such as magazines, advertising and social media.

Fashion is an industry filled with well-known designers, models and celebrities who are reported on daily for what they are wearing. However, a key takeaway from the research is that celebrity influencers are poorly trusted as a source of information by nearly two in three consumers (63%).

The research could not be any clearer. Consumers want to make the right decision on fashion, for fit, price and look as well as sustainability and ethics. When it comes to making these decisions, they trust one another’s spoken advice or ratings much more highly than the world of social media and advertising where brands pay a fortune hoping to be noticed.


The Savile Row Company website, displaying the company's Trustpilot rating. This research shows that ratings and reviews, along with word of mouth, are the most trusted sources of information.

The Savile Row
Company website,
displaying the
company's Trustpilot
rating. This research
shows that ratings
and reviews,
along with word of
mouth, are the most
trusted sources of
information.

- The US and Italy stand out as the markets where reviews are most highly trusted (43% of consumers) (Figure 10, see appendix).
- Sweden and the Netherlands show the highest trust for word of mouth, for nearly half (49% and 48%, respectively) of consumers (Figure 10, see appendix).

## Customer loyalty depends on ethics

Everyone needs clothes and it is fair to say that the driving force in purchasing decisions will depend on garments matching an individual’s sense of style and budget. Increasingly, however, image and price point are being joined by a new criterion. Customers want to know a business shares their values.

More of us want to know a business is run ethically and that it tries its best to ensure people in its supply chain are treated with respect and paid properly, while attention is paid to sustainability.

One of the major takeaways from this research is that more than four in five customers (82%) would either ‘definitely’ (31%) or ‘probably’ (51%) stop buying from a brand that was found to lack ethical standards (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Would you stop buying from a brand or fashion retailer you knew to be lacking ethical standards?

The finding should serve as a warning to brands who have yet to put ethics at the heart of their brand strategy. While nearly a third would definitely withdraw their business if non-ethical practices were discovered within the business or wider supply chain, half of the market would consider it.

This is not only a hypothetical question. For any fashion brand wondering when the market will evolve to a point where bad press around their ethics will lose them customers, the answer is we are already there.

More than half of consumers (54%) say that coverage of working conditions and sustainability policies has influenced which brands they buy or don’t buy fashion items from (Figure 5). Nearly as many have been steered by a fashion retailer’s diversity and inclusivity policy (41%) and 33% by a brand pretending to be ethical but not backing it up with real action (‘slacktivism’).


Figure 5: Has positive or negative coverage relating to any of the following issues impacted where you buy (or don’t buy) fashion and clothing items from?

Sophie Slater, who co-founded online women’s ethical fashion business [Birdsong](https://birdsong.london/), is not surprised by the findings. The company’s workers in London are paid the London Living Wage to produce garments made from organic cotton which are packed by a charity supporting adults with learning difficulties. Protecting staff from Covid meant closing down production, which has relied on customers accepting delays in deliveries because ethical fashion is not fast fashion.

“We’ve seen fashion businesses talk about sustainability for the past few years but the last year or so has definitely seen a rise in people thinking about ethics,” she says.

“People have seen how workers are treated in sweatshops in Leicester (in the UK) by well-known brands… there’s been a lot of bad press for fast fashion. We rely on good press and social media to get our message out to people who are motivated by social inclusion and treating people ethically and so will pay a little more for clothes made by people paid the London Living Wage.”

- Italy is the clear leader in customers making decisions based on media coverage (Figure 11, see appendix). More than three in four have been influenced by stories about a brand’s ethics (79%) and working conditions (77%). Perhaps this is a result of the country being the EU’s biggest producer of clothing so environmental impact and working conditions are factors that are far closer to home for Italian shoppers.

## Trust – winning over the ‘moderately trustful’ half by being kind to workers and nature

The good news for the industry at large is that more than a quarter of consumers (28%) have a ‘very’ (9%) or ‘quite’ (19%) high level of trust in fashion brands and retailers in terms of their ethical standards (Figure 6).

The bad news is this is negated by a quarter of the market (26%) which has a ‘very’ (7%) or ‘quite’ (19%) low level of trust. This leaves almost half of consumers (46%) sitting on the fence, with only a moderate level of trust in the industry.

Figure 6: How would you describe your level of trust in fashion brands and retailers in terms of their ethical standards?

With a quarter of the market trusting the industry and a quarter not trusting it, the battleground is clearly winning the hearts and minds of the remainder who are fairly neutral.

Given that four in five respondents have also revealed they are ready to dismiss a brand which treats workers or the environment disrespectfully, the focus should be on convincing customers with a moderate level of trust that a brand is truly committed to treating its workers and the planet with respect.

There are some novel ways of improving trust being deployed at eco-friendly fashion brand [SANVT](https://sanvt.com/) (which means gentle on nature in German). The company’s Head of Marketing and Co-Founder, Benjamin Heyd, reveals the company is dedicated to working with suppliers who use organic cotton and do not use toxic chemicals in the dyeing process. To underline the point, they have an unusual approach to transparency and promotions.

“We keep our environmental impact low and our ethical standards high by using a factory in the EU, in Portugal,” he says.

“We offer a virtual tour of the factory so people can see for themselves the high standards we adhere to. We also don’t run sales promotions, we just offer to plant more trees within our carbon offsetting program when people buy promoted items. I don’t think we’re quite at the point yet where sustainability is the most crucial part of a customer choosing a brand, compared to the design and fit of clothing. However, in the long term, we are definitely getting there and brands will soon need to be able to show consumers they are eco-friendly and ethical.”

- Sweden and the Netherlands stand out as the markets with the lowest opinion of fashion brands and retailers. In each market, only 4% trust them highly. France is close behind with a high level of trust reaching just 5%.
- The US has the biggest level of ‘very high’ trust in fashion brands and retailers at 14%, backed up by a 20% level of ‘quite high’ trust.
- Overall, Italy is the most trusting nation, with more than a third (39%) of consumers having ‘very’ (8%) or ‘quite’ (31%) high trust levels.

## Customers need ethical and sustainable fashion brands

It is clear today’s fashion customer is starting to look for more than items that suit their style. In particular, they are committed to avoiding brands found to be acting in a non-ethical and unsustainable way. They are also expecting brands to embrace diversity and inclusivity.

So, what does this mean in practice? What are the strategies, commitments and services modern customers are looking to see more of in the future from fashion brands and retailers? When allowed to suggest three proof points that companies are walking the proverbial walk, what do they pick out?

Joint top, for nearly half of respondents, was commitment to good working conditions throughout the supply chain (46%), along with environmentally-friendly packaging (also 46%). A recycling service (41%) comes in third place, with clothes made from recycled materials (38%) and initiatives aimed at reducing the carbon footprint (36%) completing the top-five wishlist (Figure 7).

Methodology note: Respondents could select up to three options.

Figure 7: What three things would you like to see more of in the future from fashion brands and retailers?

For menswear brand [The Savile Row Company](https://savilerowco.com/), it is not a major surprise that environmentally-friendly packaging tops the list, alongside ethics. 

Marketing Director Lee-Anne Harris reveals the business has replaced plastic with biodegradable and potato starch bags, with shirt collars and shoulders held in place by paper fasteners rather than the traditional plastic clips.

“The data we’re getting from our Trustpilot reviews shows customers are reacting well to orders arriving in recyclable paper packaging and a biodegradable bag,” she says.

“We didn’t ask customers first; it was just a no-brainer for us because it’s how we want to live and we were pretty sure it’s how our customers want to live as well. It’s more a question of why wouldn’t you? It’s just a base level of decency.”


The Savile Row Company has replaced plastic packaging (left) with a recyclable paper bag (right).

Despite the uptick in positive reviews, Harris confirms recyclable packaging is still a feature that customers appreciate rather than demand as standard. However, she believes it is only a matter of time before customers “truly hold fashion companies to account for their record on plastic waste”. Hence it makes sense to be prepared in advance.

- American customers are way ahead of their European counterparts on the values they want to see from fashion brands and retailers which did not make the top-five list above (Figure 12, see appendix). These include working with charities (35%), offering inclusive product ranges (27%), ensuring diversity in advertising (26%) and taking a stance on social issues (24%).
- It is likely a result of the deep social issues Americans are examining in the year the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement gained massive national, and global, traction. Support for brands taking a stance on social issues, including BLM, is more than twice as high in the US as it is in all other countries surveyed, other than Italy.

## How brands can embrace ethics and sustainability

They know their size, they know their style and they have a good idea of what they are starting to want to see from fashion brands and retailers. But what indicators are customers looking for to find out if a brand shares their values on treating people and the environment with dignity and care?

The challenge for companies is there is no single standout attribute consumers are seeking out. Instead, there are four key drivers of trust which are being actively sought out by a little over half (58% and 59%) of fashion shoppers (Figure 8).

Respondents reveal transparent values and policies, fair trade badges and certification, on-site and off-site ratings and reviews are equally as important, on average.


Figure 8: Do you look for any of the following to give you confidence that you are buying from an ethically responsible fashion brand or retailer?

These are areas high on the radar for luxury online fashion retailer [FARFETCH](https://www.farfetch.com/). Its Director of Sustainable Business, Thomas Berry, explains the fashion brand not only helps customers make more ethical and sustainable purchases, it also has reselling schemes to extend an item’s life.

“As part of Positively FARFETCH, we have an extensive Conscious collection which customers can shop, using either filters, or our dedicated edits, to ensure they’re getting items that meet good independent sustainability standards and certifications,” he says.

“We also have two service offerings that help our customers extend the life of unused clothes. FARFETCH Second Life is a resale service, where customers submit their old hand-bags, get a price quote, we arrange a pick-up slot and, once the item is verified, the quoted price is added as a credit to their FARFETCH account.

“We do the same with our FARFETCH Donate service, where a customer fills a bag with any fashion item they no longer want, the items are sold in aid of their chosen charity, and customers get a third of the proceeds as FARFETCH credit. In both cases someone else gets to enjoy the items so everyone’s doing their bit to help the environment by reducing overall consumption of 'new' items."

The proof that customers are now looking to make more sustainable and ethical purchasing decisions comes from Berry revealing that the Conscious range is growing at a significantly faster rate than all other sales through the site. Additionally, across the industry, he estimates new clothes sales are predicted to grow at most around 3% whereas clothing resale growth is in the 15%-30% range.

## Conclusion

The primary motivators in fashion will likely always be the look, feel, design and price of an item. However, there is a growing consideration to filter fashion brands and retailers according to their action on sustainability and ethics.

This was always bubbling under the surface but it would appear the global pandemic has prompted consumers to take stock of what is important and to value brands who treat their workers and the environment with care and respect.

Research coordinated by Cardiff University found, for example, that the proportion of Britons who believe tackling climate change is urgent rose from 62% to 74% between August 2019 and August 2020. Additionally, nearly half the UK population (47%) is now vowing to fly less than before once restrictions are lifted. In the US, media reports have suggested taking a step back from the daily grind of driving to work has seen air pollution drop by 30%.

These issues should resonate with fashion brands and retailers, given that four in five consumers reveal they would not shop with a brand that lacked ethical and sustainable values. Hence, half of consumers have already revealed they have avoided fashion companies that have received poor media coverage over their ethics and sustainability record.

__Consumers have spoken clearly. They want brands to:__

- Treat workers throughout their entire supply chain fairly
- Produce clothes without damaging the environment
- Use recyclable packaging
- Embrace recycling schemes which extend garments’ lives
- Work hard on carbon reduction measures
- Operate according to transparent brand values

These are the action points fashion brands and retailers need to embrace to win over the half of the market that currently only trusts the industry to a moderate degree and the quarter which does not trust them at all.

When it comes to trust, they need to remember fashion shoppers highly trust one another’s advice and online reviews two to three times as much as glossy magazine articles, social media and advertising. As for celebrity influencers, these are the least trusted source available to fashion marketers.

The message is clear. Consumers want to see sustainable and ethical fashion, and they place their trust on which brands match these values in word of mouth and reviews, not the media and most definitely not on what celebrity influencers are paid to say.

If you'd like to find out more about Trustpilot, and how social proof can help you build trust with consumers, request a free demo below.


### Methodology

London Research was commissioned by Trustpilot to carry out surveys of 2,800 nationally representative consumers across the UK (n=1,000), US (n=1,000), France (n=200), the Netherlands (n=200), Italy (n=200) and Sweden (n=200) in September 2020.

The research was conducted using a Toluna research panel. London Research also carried out a series of interviews for this report.

### Acknowledgements

London Research and Trustpilot would like to thank the following people for their help in compiling this report:

- Thomas Berry, Global Director of Sustainable Business, FARFETCH
- Lee-Anne Harris, Marketing Director, The Savile Row Company
- Benjamin Heyd, Head of Marketing and Co-Founder, SANVT
- Olivia Pinnock, Fashion Writer and Creator of The Fashion Debates
- Sophie Slater, Co-Founder, Birdsong
- Laurel Wolfe, VP Marketing, Klarna

Why ethical fashion brands are future-proof

Health-and-Beauty-Hero - smaller

Combating misinformation in the health and beauty sector

Buying the right health and beauty products can be a minefield at the best of times, with consumers wasting millions each day on health and beauty products that are counterfeit, substandard and in many cases bought on the basis of fake reviews. 

## The cost of fake reviews and counterfeits

The harsh reality is that the products may well be counterfeit. This means customers have not only wasted hard-earned money on a fake product, they could also be risking their health.

If you need to get a hook on why people should be concerned about fake health and beauty products, a good place to start is the Netflix documentary ‘[Broken: Make-Up Mayhem](https://www.netflix.com/title/81002391)’.

In the show, police investigators and doctors list the heavy metals and carcinogens they have found counterfeiters use to create cheap copies of expensive ingredients. At one level, these cause skin diseases, such as dermatitis, impetigo and pustules. At the other extreme, heavy metals can cause fertility issues and lead to miscarriages. One interviewee revealed how a counterfeit Kylie lipstick got its shiny appearance from superglue which stuck her lips together.

### COVID-19 exacerbates the problem

Covid-19 is raising the stakes, considerably. Legitimate businesses and industry experts know that regardless of what is happening to the economy, consumers still want to feel good about themselves. When official outlets they trust run out of stock, as global supply chains come unstuck, even savvy consumers can be tempted to check out online stores they may not totally trust.

Wellness and beauty industry influencer and ITV This Morning guest presenter, Gina Akers, has warned of the dangers of counterfeit products on BBC’s ‘Fake Britain’ television show. She believes many consumers, especially young people, want to look like their favorite celebrity, but cannot afford the high-end prices required. When you add reputable stores running out of stock, you have a counterfeiter’s dream scenario.

*“The big issue is the celebrity influencers have their own lines of cosmetics which are high end and are prone to running out of stock, particularly with the supply problems around coronavirus,”* she says.

*“Young people wanting to look like these celebrities are sorely tempted to get something cheaper from somewhere online that claims to have stock. But they’re often fake and, even worse, they have been made in unsanitary conditions. My advice is that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Always buy from a reputable store.”
*

### Market overview: spending is up, so is waste

The [coronavirus pandemic](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/consumer-behavior-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-global-review-trends-by-industry) has prompted a significant leap in spending in the health and beauty markets. According to our research, 59% of US consumers and 55% of UK consumers say they are spending more on health products due to the coronavirus crisis.

Around a quarter of survey respondents in both markets (26% in the US and 25% in the UK) reveal they are spending more on beauty. As seen in Figure 1, almost half of those consumers spending more on beauty across both markets suggest the extra spending is rooted in wanting to treat themselves (45% in the US and 51% in the UK).



Why consumers have bought more health and beauty products as a result of lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic.

Figure 1: Why consumers have bought more health and beauty products as a result of lockdown and the coronavirus pandemic.

In unprecedented times, both American and British consumers (42% and 40%, respectively) are spending more because they fear that stocks could run out if they do not make a pre-emptive purchase and there is clearly a desire under lockdown to stay healthy and feel good about oneself through a treat purchase.

Consumers are also spending more because salons are closed (45% in the US and 35% in the UK).

In the health category, both markets are clearly showing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. The most popular products so far this year have been hand sanitizer and soap, with pain relief, vitamin supplements, and prescription and over-the-counter medicines following closely behind (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Which health-related products have you bought since the start of this year?

A third of consumers in the UK and around two in five in the US had already bought plastic gloves and face masks when our survey was carried out in April. This is a new market for both countries which have no tradition of wearing face coverings in public, unlike some parts of Asia. This category will continue to grow as lockdown measures are relaxed, the use of face masks becomes increasingly recommended or enforced, and anxious members of the public return to busy public areas, particularly on public transport.

In beauty, hair and skin care are the most popular categories for spending so far this year in both the US and the UK, with bathing accessories, foot, hand and nail care, fragrances and makeup not far behind (Figure 3).

Which beauty products consumers have bought since the start of the year

Figure 3: Which beauty products have you bought since the start of the year?

The closure of retail outlets has led to an increase in online sales for health and beauty products

The closure of retail stores due to coronavirus has led to an increase in online sales, especially for health and beauty products

The closure of retail stores has led to an increase in online sales

According to Meghan Stabler, VP of Global Product Marketing and Communications at ecommerce platform [BigCommerce](https://www.bigcommerce.com/), ecommerce spending has increased significantly in 2020 as consumers are forced to rely on digital channels during lockdown.

She said: *“Whether specific to health and beauty, or looking broadly across industries, we’ve seen surges in ecommerce since the start of mass shelter-in-place guidance began in March. Consumer spending online has grown significantly year over year, with some recent days even topping sales numbers from Cyber Week 2019.”*

*“Though we expect YoY increases to remain strong for the foreseeable future – particularly in categories deemed essential like health and beauty – looking at week-over-week trends shows more consistency in sales numbers, indicating that consumers are finding their ‘new normal’ and pandemic panic-buying may be levelling out. We’ll continue to see slight shifts in consumer behavior alongside public health guidance, though one thing has been made crystal clear: ecommerce has cemented its role as a modern-day shopping staple, and will likely serve as a long-term foundation for the way customers interact with brands across channels.”*

The picture that emerges in both the US and the UK is of consumers significantly increasing their online spending on health and beauty products. This is attributable to anxiety surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. Anxious consumers reveal they want to secure favored items as shops are temporarily shut and online suppliers run the risk of running out of stock. As ever in the health and beauty sector, the motivation of a treat purchase is just as important.

### The impact of fake reviews and misinformation

When customers are concerned about trusted online sources running out of stock, there's a high probability they will look to new sources — for both new product suppliers and advice from fellow shoppers.

A third (33%) of American and 29% of British consumers reveal they are more cautious about the products they purchase because of online misinformation relating to health and beauty products (Figure 4). This can include fake or inaccurate reviews, spurious or exaggerated claims about a product’s efficacy and lies about its contents.

Just over half of consumers in both the US and UK (59% and 55%, respectively) feel confident they have not suffered from misinformation, but a further 12% in each country say they are ‘not sure’. This reflects the fact that consumers do not always know with certainty if they have received poor advice.



Figure 4: Has misinformation online relating to health and beauty products made you ore cautious about the products you purchase?

Trust is always a major issue in any health or beauty purchase because, more than any other decision, there is a real risk of not getting the desired result and even accidentally inflicting harm by ingesting a toxic substance or applying it to the skin.

Fake reviews are an everyday occurrence and Ed Saper, Director at [Pai Skincare](https://www.paiskincare.us/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlqWyjOvy6QIVGQiICR3hOgDFEAAYASAAEgLlHvD_BwE), believes far more should be done to punish brands who engage in what is called ‘astroturfing’. This is where a company’s own staff or third parties are encouraged to post positive reviews for their products and sometimes negative reviews for competitors.

*“When a major brand got caught ‘astroturfing’ recently, the view we heard back from the industry was that it was bad but everyone’s at it,”* he says.

*“Even when someone big is caught, they don’t suffer. We need big fines to ensure the public knows they are reading authentic reviews because it’s the consumer who suffers from being defrauded and honest companies who risk being squeezed out. It’s against our company policy for a member of staff to review our products. If they talk about us online, they have to be clear that they work for us.”*

But aren’t fake reviews plainly obvious? According to Thomas Vermeulen, Head of Fraud Investigations at Trustpilot, spotting dishonest reviews that don’t represent a genuine experience and deliberately attempt to manipulate consumer perceptions isn’t as easy as it sounds. 

*“One isolated review doesn’t tell much — it’s more about finding patterns and anomalies,” he says. “With that in mind, you should look out for more than one red flag within the reviews. When in doubt, compare reviews with other sources of information and don’t discount common sense — if it seems too good to be true, often it is.”*

He also suggests the following things to look out for. 

- Take note of the spread of scores within the ratings and the span of time in which the reviews were left. An honest company is likely to have both positive and negative reviews in the mix, and if all reviews were posted in a short period of time they might not provide a genuine representation of the business. 

- If a company only has five-star reviews, look at the total number of reviews a company has and their recency to make sure you harness the wisdom of the crowd and not just a select group. 

- Within those reviews, are you able to identify patterns or recurring structures? If the reviewer mentions the name of the business a number of times, or if it reads more like marketing collateral than a consumer experience, those could be red flags.

- Are the reviews invited or left organically? If all positive reviews are invited and the negative reviews left organically, this might suggest a biased invitation process. 

These are just a few ways to identify dishonest reviews. Lastly, Vermeulen recommends evaluating the company in question’s website and overall presence as a brand outside of reviews. *“Reviews are just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to a company’s trustworthiness,”* he says. 

### Consumers place trust in reviews

With only half of consumers feeling confident they have not been duped by online misinformation around health and beauty products, whom can the market look towards for sage advice? Whom can the public trust?

It turns out consumers are digitally savvy enough to know that advertising and information shared through social media and messaging apps aren’t always to be taken at face value. Depending on each channel and the market involved, these information sources are only highly trusted by between 10% to 14% of the public (Figure 5).



Figure 5: Proportion of consumers describing their level of trust in information sources as high for health and beauty products

Conversely, customer and expert ratings and reviews are the preferred sources for a significant proportion of consumers despite the issue of fake reviews in the marketplace. In the US, these are assigned the same level of ‘high’ trust (41%), whether they come from consumers or from experts.
The same sources of information are the most trusted in the UK. Britons are slightly more likely to trust experts over fellow consumers (35% versus 29%).

Interestingly, Figure 5 also shows that nearly twice as many consumers in both markets assign a ‘high’ level of trust to consumer and expert reviews as to news articles.

Perhaps even more telling for brands that are built around famous people or rely heavily on them for promotional activities, celebrity influencers are the least trusted channel for information. Digitally savvy consumers probably realize that the rich and famous have endorsement contracts in place and there is a risk their advice isn’t impartial and is limited to the brands they have a financial arrangement with. Such posts will typically feature the #ad (or similar) hashtag.

Both US and UK consumers are significantly more likely (four and three times, respectively), to assign a high level of trust to a rating from a fellow shopper than they are to a celebrity’s words of wisdom.

The clear trust-related takeaways are:

- The public places a significantly higher level of trust in ratings and reviews than in  news articles and retailer websites.

- Retailer websites are trusted only slightly more than advertising. Consumers clearly draw a comparison between advertising and skilled copywriting on a slick website.

- Advertising is only trusted ‘highly’ by around the same proportion of those who trust information shared on social media and messaging apps.

- Celebrity influencers have the lowest level of trust among consumers – two-thirds (67% in the US and 65% in the UK) describe their level of trust in this source of information as ‘low’.


ManCave Trustpilot Reviews

### How can retailers build trust?

As seen in the previous section, the promotional copy retailers have spent a great deal of effort perfecting is only trusted a little more than advertising. Customers are around twice as likely to believe the word of a fellow shopper or expert reviewer than they are the slick words and beautiful photographs on a retailer’s site.

This means reputable retailers need to find a way to show their credentials and prove to the public they are trustworthy and that their products are authentic and work in the way described. Showcasing customer approval stands out as the most effective way to achieve ‘[social proof](https://business.trustpilot.com/guides-reports/build-trusted-brand/why-and-how-social-proof-influences-consumers)’ authentically.
According to Daniel Durose, Brand Marketing Manager at male grooming business [ManCave](https://mancaveinc.com/), the key is to talk about the authenticity of the brand as well as be seen to actively embrace customer reviews.

On the company’s site, the pictures show models and the products in outdoor settings to underline the cruelty-free, sustainably resourced message, backed up with certification from the appropriate bodies, such as Cruelty Free International. However, as Durose points out, people expect a website to convey what a brand wants to show about itself. Where companies can go much further is encouraging reviews and, even more importantly, [engaging with them](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/5-reasons-why-you-shouldnt-remove-negative-feedback).

*“Reviews are essential for a retailer to show new customers they’re trustworthy,”* he says. *“Trustpilot is the Holy Grail of trust for us but we can’t just rely on good ratings and hide away from occasional unfavorable comments. We want to resolve any issues so we always respond to people and do what we can to help. We find people react really well when they see you take the time to engage with people and resolve issues rather than hide away. It’s a great way of showing you listen and care.”*

Tim Peckover, Content Marketing Manager at brand loyalty business [Smile.io](https://smile.io/), agrees. In his experience, the power of customer testimonials lies not just in what they say about a company’s products, but also the brand itself.

*“Reviews are powerful for health and beauty brands because of the social proof they attach not just to the brand, but to the quality of the products as well,” he says. “In today’s ecommerce world, health and beauty shoppers don’t just look for a fun and engaging brand, they also want products that are going to give them the results they want. Shoppers are looking for health and beauty brands that will become their go-to, and customer reviews show them how loyal other customers already are, and help turn potential shoppers into long-term brand advocates.”*

### Counting the cost of fake reviews

Reviews can represent a two-edged sword. On the one hand, as our research shows, they are the most trusted way for consumers to find out which goods experts and fellow shoppers rate highly.

However, if review systems are not properly overseen, they can provide a means through which an online business can try to appear more popular than it really is. Fake reviews are such a problem that nearly half (47%) of US consumers reveal they have been duped into wasting money on a health or beauty purchase by an inaccurate or fraudulent review (Figure 6).

Our research shows that the average American health and beauty shopper has wasted $39.6 in the past year – 9% have lost more than $100 over the same period.

This equates to 3.7% of their total spending on health and beauty, an industry worth $90bn in the US. That means a staggering $3.3bn is wasted every year due to fake reviews. That breaks down to $275m a month, or $63.5m a week or $9m every day.



Figure 6: How much money have you wasted on health or beauty products due to fake reviews?

Figure 6: (US Respondents) How much money have you wasted on health or beauty products due to fake reviews?

In the UK, more than a third of consumers (37%) have been duped into buying a product on the basis of inaccurate or fake reviews. The average shopper has wasted £19.7 in the past year alone (Figure 7).

This accounts for 3.3% of their spending on health and beauty products, which is a £9.9bn market in the UK. This means fake reviews lead to £327m of wasted expenditure each year, equivalent to £27m per month, £6.3m per week or just under a million pounds (£895,890) every day.


Figure 7: (UK Respondents) How much money have you wasted on health or beauty products due to fake reviews?

For Rebecca Hopkins, Founder of skincare brand [Balance Me](https://www.balanceme.com/), fake reviews are a common way for unscrupulous online retailers to try to hoodwink the public.

*“We find the occasional bad review on our site and third-party sites from purported customers that are difficult to verify and trace and we’re almost certain we didn’t actually sell them anything,”* she says.

*“When we investigate further we often find they can’t prove they’re a customer, even though we always offer to put things right. On third-party sites, such as Amazon, we can often see that they have left similar poor reviews on several other brands and then left a glowing review for a rival, often for a lesser known, non-high street brand. I suspect that there are individuals or businesses out there that provide this kind of service to less scrupulous brands but they are very hard to pin down, yet their comments can be quite harmful in the customer's eyes.”*

Hopkins also highlights the issue of non-authorized ecommerce businesses claiming to sell the company’s stock: *“We also have people using our brand name as a storefront in other markets, usually on third-party platforms. They seem to be able to get hold of some of our stock through the grey market and they then lift photos from our website. It’s very hard to police but we do what we reasonably can to stop it. It seems to be particularly prevalent where we are not actively operating in a specific market, such as America. We can’t be sure it’s definitely our products or not, we don’t know how old they are and, either way, consumers may not be buying from whom they think they are, and they won’t be getting our level of customer service or quality guarantee.”*

This issue is also of particular concern to Sarah Brown, Founder of Pai Skincare. She reveals the company spends hundreds of thousands of pounds protecting its formulas and the look and feel of its products. However, only a global giant, she believes, can afford to protect themselves in every market, regardless of how many sales they make in it.

She believes some businesses are ‘passing off’ counterfeit goods as original. The look and feel of their products and the packaging are copied, but the natural ingredients are not.

*“We have spent a dozen years building up a reputation for certified, natural products which are kind on skin,”* she says.

*“We run our own manufacturing and control our own supply chain to make sure every ingredient is stored and handled properly. Someone passing off our products will not do this and so the end result could well include skin irritants which are usually added to make the product last longer. It’s annoying. It’s damaging to our brand, but it also means people buying the product won’t get what they think they’re paying for and there’s a good chance it will cause skin irritation.”*

### Counting the cost of counterfeits

Wasting money is bad enough but the even more alarming impact of fake reviews for consumers is the purchase of counterfeit or poor-quality goods which damage their health. This risk is heightened when salons and stores are closed and people cannot talk to a professional for advice.

Nearly two in three (64%) American consumers have lost money in the past year by buying fake or poor-quality health and beauty goods (Figure 8). The average loss in the past year has been $43.9.



Figure 8: (US Respondents) How much money have you wasted in the last year because health or beauty products were poor quality or fake?

In the UK, there is a similar picture, with nearly half of consumers (48%) revealing they have bought poor-quality or fake beauty and health products (Figure 9). The average loss was £25.2 in the past year.


Figure 9: (US Respondents) How much money have you wasted in the last year because health or beauty products were poor quality or fake?

It is here that campaigners are particularly worried. Losing money to a counterfeit or adulterated product is one thing, but consumers are risking far more than cash. As Janet Nudelman, Director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, reveals, there are very real risks of people inadvertently jeopardizing their health with these bad purchases.

*“We regularly hear horror stories about what happens when health and beauty products are counterfeited or tampered with using dangerous chemicals,”* she says. *“There was [a recent case](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/09/12/california-woman-coma-after-using-face-cream-tainted-mercury/2300376001/) of a woman in California ending up in a coma because the skin lightening cream she had bought contained mercury."*

*“This is only going to be made worse as the lockdown and recession lead to more stores closing and more people shopping online and buying products they’re not familiar with that could be counterfeit, especially because they can’t see or feel the packaging to get an idea of whether the product is real or not.”*

## Conclusion: social distancing and recession raise the stakes

Covid-19 did not create fake reviews and misinformation that are employed by unscrupulous ecommerce operators to sell counterfeit health and beauty products. Nor is it the sole reason why people waste money and risk their health by using goods of unknown origin.

However, industry experts agree that the lockdown and inevitable global recession have, and will, exacerbate the problem. The unprecedented global pandemic brings with it lower wages and the real risk of reputable retailers regularly running out of stock. This is happening because international supply chains are already strained and some manufacturers are heeding the call to switch production to hygiene products to support communities emerging from lockdown.

The risk goes beyond supply chains being stretched, of course. Consumers are having to make important purchasing decisions without any access to trusted professionals running boutiques. Even when salons reopen, capacity is reduced by social distancing requirements, meaning access to advice is not as available as before.

As Robert Myers, General Manager for Memberships at the Professional Beauty Association, explains, the public has to be vigilant when buying products without the advice of a trusted professional.

*“Consumers must be careful about where they purchase their professional salon products,”* he cautions.

*“Counterfeit products, phishing campaigns, defective inventory and other deceptive business practices are ever-present and a risk when going outside authorized channels. False claims have been an ever-present issue and we recommend seeking the advice of a licensed professional to select the best products and solutions.”*

So, who can the public turn to for advice if stores and boutiques are moving from closure to social distancing measures which restrict the number of people a professional can assist? As international supply chain challenges lead to legitimate online and physical retailers running out of stock, customers run the risk of being conned. Misinformation about a product’s authenticity and efficacy are rife, so too are fake reviews.

The result? Nearly one in two US consumers and just over one in three UK consumers feel they have lost money on the basis of fake reviews and misinformation.

The solution? As our research shows it looks like the public already knows where it can go for advice – reviews from experts and fellow consumers. The digital savvy public understands how ecommerce and online marketing works and it has placed its trust firmly in expert advice and social proof.
This means reviews are not only clearly the most trusted source of information, they’re nearly twice as highly trusted as the news. Retailer websites only have trust levels comparable to advertising. The same applies to social media.

In fact, the public is passing on some social media insight here that an industry so heavily reliant on celebrity endorsement really needs to listen to. Two in three consumers do not trust celebrity influencers highly. They are nearly four times more likely to trust one another, than a superstar.
Clearly, the public has spoken. Pop stars and actors are not the go-to source to differentiate between trustworthy brands and those relying on fake reviews and misinformation to sell counterfeit goods.

The public is looking beyond the hype and glamour of slick advertising, beautiful copywriting and well-known faces. It’s even looking beyond the words of praise laid out by journalists in news organisations.

Our research is clear. Consumers are placing their trust in one another.

### Methodology

London Research was commissioned by Trustpilot to carry out surveys of 1,000 nationally representative consumers in the US and UK in April 2020, while both countries were under lockdown during the coronavirus crisis. The research was conducted using a Toluna research panel. London Research also carried out a series of interviews for this report.

### Acknowledgments 

London Research and Trustpilot would like to thank the following people for their help in compiling this report:

- Gina Akers, TV and radio presenter, and wellness and beauty expert
- Sarah Brown, Founder, Pai Skincare
- Daniel Durose, Brand Marketing Manager, ManCave
- Rebecca Hopkins, Founder, Balance Me
- Robert Myers, General Manager for Memberships, Professional Beauty Association
- Janet Nudelman, Director, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
- Tim Peckover, Content Marketing Manager, Smile.io
- Ed Saper, Director at Pai Skincare
- Meghan Stabler, VP of Global Product Marketing and Communications, BigCommerce
- Thomas Vermeulen, Head of Fraud Investigations, Trustpilot







2020 Consumer Report: Combating Misinformation in the Health + Beauty Sector

the new face of seo is aeo

Users are seeking a solution to a problem or the answer to a question. That has always been the case. Search engines have provided a list of options from which to choose but they have struggled to provide one single solution or answer. That’s starting to change.

- Both Google and Bing are increasingly capable of offering the correct answer.
- The devices that provide the answer are becoming increasingly ubiquitous (mobile phones, voice assistants, watches, in-car assistants...).
- As Google and Bing improve, their users are increasingly comfortable accepting the unique solution they propose. 

These changes present new challenges - but also offer phenomenal opportunities for companies.

### Converting Google and Bing’s users into your clients

Your aim, as a company, is to make sure that Google and Bing understand when you can offer the correct answer for a user for a given need at a given time and that they consider your answer to be the best. If you can do that, search engines will send their users to your site and those users can become your clients.

__How can you ensure the interactions between users and search engines turn out positively for you?__

### Optimising for Answer Engines - The Two Pillar Strategy

__Google is looking for:__

- Understanding
- Credibility

__So you need to:__

- Communicate
- Convince

You need to communicate to Google that you have the solution or answer for a given problem or question and prove that your solution or answer is better than your competitors.

This guide will provide an 8-point checklist on how to communicate and convince answer engines through understanding and credibility.

## Communicate to create Understanding

Communication provides understanding to Google and Bing so they know who you are and what you do. If you can communicate that, and provide sufficient corroborated information, these search engines will give you a place in their knowledge graphs and the opportunity to be provided as a definitive answer. There are four steps in communication to ensure your company is ready for the answer engines of tomorrow.

### 1. Leverage structured data

[Schema.org](http://schema.org) markup provides a way to present the information in your webpages to Google and Bing in a format they can easily and reliably understand. Use
basic information such as Corporation, Product, Offer, and more to explain who you are and what you do, then expand on this by giving details about you and your offers using attributes such as address, brand, price, etc. You can explain pretty much anything in this manner, and we recommend that you use schema.org markup extensively. 

### 2. Use semantic HTML5

Semantic HTML5 is an additional way to present information to Google and Bing in an easily digestible manner. By using semantic HTML5 tags such as article and navigation, you can identify parts of the page so Google can better understand and concentrate on the content that is central to the message your page is providing to the user. 

You can also give the content of the page structure using HTML tables and special HTML5 tags. Find out more [here](https://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_intro.asp).

### 3. Maintain owned and third-party channels

Multiple sources corroborating and confirming the information you provided in steps 1 and 2 will reinforce Google and Bing’s understanding. Owned and
semi-controlled channels are easy to manage and include your company’s website, EV SSL certificates, your social accounts, review sites like Trustpilot, and other relevant third-party channels that you can affect. Sources you have no control over send stronger signals and include
news sites, Wikipedia, and government sites. The more signals you can generate through various pertinent and trusted channels, the better. This is very much an ongoing task as new channels emerge and existing ones
shift in value.

### 4. Keep your company’s identity consistent

Ensure that all the information about you, wherever it appears, is accurate and up to date. The better you can manage to be consistent across the web, the more confidence Google and Bing will have in the veracity of the information you provided in steps 1, 2, and 3. Start with your social accounts, business accounts, government sites build a qualitative and quantitative review platform portfolio, and then move onto asking third party sites to update information about you (they often oblige). This is another ongoing undertaking, but is absolutely essential.

## Convince using Credibility

Your aim is to convince Google that you are the most credible available
solution. If you provide more powerful positive credibility signals than your competition, these search engines will consider you to be the best solution in your market and offer you as the best (objective) answer. This is the second pillar necessary for the answer engines of tomorrow - and consists of four steps.

### 1. Get reviews and ratings

Customer feedback, and therefore reviews, are an incredibly strong credibility signal. Reach out to happy customers post-sale by email or SMS and make it easy for them to give you a review on a third party platform.

Reviews you collect yourself have little value for AEO. Choose 3 or 4 platforms to begin with. There are two main questions to think about when choosing the right review platforms:

- Which review platforms do your prospects use and trust?
- Is the review platform credible?

The credibility of the platform that publishes a customer review carries significant weight in Google’s measure of that review’s importance. Everyone gets negative reviews. For brands with over 80% positive feedback, it is sheer quantity that makes the difference. 

__Google will prefer a brand that has 10,000 reviews giving an average of 80% over a brand that has 100 reviews with an average of 85%.__

### 2. Engage in and encourage social feedback

Get positive social buzz and chatter to generate a very strong credibility signal. To generate buzz, keep a constant flow of content on social channels:

- Engage with your clients
- Reach out to prospects
- Get your content out there
- Share other people’s great content

The sheer quantity of social chatter makes it impossible for Google to crawl and index everything in this field. Some estimates suggest that it manages to crawl 35% of Facebook. If that is true, social chatter needs to be three times more voluminous than any review or press activity in order to have the same effect. So, although much of it goes unseen, a constant low-level buzz is vital for this channel. Should your brand go viral, you will become a focal point that Google will remember.

### 3. Obtain quality third-party mentions via press and thought leaders

Links remain important, but an intelligent machine understands, and gives credit to, brand mentions (so-called linkless links). So, reach out and get quality mentions from relevant thought leaders. Although we often think of thought leaders as individuals, brands and sites can be considered thought leaders.

Mentions and (better still) reviews from thought leaders are very powerful. Getting a thought leader, whether it’s a brand, site, or person, to talk about your brand in a relevant, positive context will send an incredibly powerful credibility signal to Google - well worth pursuing.

### 4. Optimise user experience

Identifying a user’s “moment of satisfaction” is the most difficult to pin down, but potentially the most important. Google is looking to identify the moment when its user has found the solution to their problem or the answer to their question. Google is not there yet, but is rapidly developing the capacity to identify this moment and base its results accordingly. 

You need to make sure that user behaviour on your site reflects the fact that you have provided that user with the correct solution or answer at the right time. 

Make landing pages fast, attractive, pertinent, and intuitive. Use the same vocabulary as your users and make sure you address their problem or question and clearly indicate that you have the answer for them.

To see how well you are doing, track such metrics as: page load speed, bounce rate, dwell time, visit depth and conversion rate. To help improve user experience on your landing pages, you can use one of the many A/B testing and user session analysis solutions.

__Understanding and credibility are the two deciding factors in a future where Google and Bing deliver definitive answers to their users with increasing accuracy. If you want to be leading the field in the years to come, you must seek to communicate and convince. Starting today.__

__If you'd like to learn how reviews can help you improve your AEO, request a free demo below.__

The new face of SEO: Answer Engine Optimisation 

The beginner's guide to site speed for SEO 

Site speed is one of the factors Google considers in their ranking algorithm. So if your site has slow loading times, it could affect your SEO.

[53% of mobile users](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/data-measurement/mobile-page-speed-new-industry-benchmarks/) won’t wait more than 3 seconds for a site to load and every second that shoppers have to wait after the 3 second loading mark costs them 7% in conversion. 

And this problem can start before visitors even have a chance to reach conversion or your website. Site speed is one of the factors Google considers in their ranking algorithm. So if your site has slow loading times, fewer people will even reach your website. Potential customers coming from search could end up visiting one of your competitors instead and it may just be the competitor who decided to pay attention to site speed. 

Never forget — the average mobile site takes [15 seconds to load](https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/data-measurement/mobile-page-speed-new-industry-benchmarks/). So, chances are, your site speed has probably already been negatively affecting your business in terms of SEO and conversion. 

To help you clean this up, we’ve rounded up some factors to consider that can help you improve your site speed.

## Diagnosing your site speed

First things first. If you aren’t sure of your current speed, [Page Speed Insights](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-pagespeed-insights/edbkhhpodjkbgenodomhfoldapghpddk?hl=en) by Google is a great way to test your site speed and see where you are currently. Once you do this, you can figure out where to make changes to get that load time even shorter. 

In short, it’s a Google Chrome extension that will quickly give you your PageSpeed score. You’ll also be directed to some insights with further stats to help you understand the score.

## How can you improve your site speed?

### Minimize and simplify redirects

Redirects on your website are a great thing if you’ve ever had to de-index pages on your site. They help you guide your visitors where you need them to be, to find the information they want. 

But if you have too many redirects, this can [significantly impact your site speed](https://moz.com/learn/seo/page-speed). Look into your redirects and make the number of steps to the correct URL as short as you can, while still guiding your visitor where they need to be. 

### Resize your images

Are your images compressed for the web? Size and format can both affect site speed so make sure they are as small as they can be. If you have .png images you may be able to switch them to compressed .jpg images to help speed up your site. 

Image sprites in CSS may also be able to help. If you have a lot of different image files on your site (and each need to load individually) it may be easier to use a sprite to send them all to your site as a single image. There are quite a few [free tools](https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/resize-images-for-web) to help you easily do this. 

### Look into using Content Delivery Networks, also known as CDNs

[Content delivery networks (CDNs)](https://mashable.com/roundup/best-content-delivery-networks/) make data load faster because they use a group of servers that are located in different geographical locations. Wherever a user is, their pages will load from the server that is physically closest to where they are. This helps your load times decrease significantly. If your load times are higher than you want them to be and the other fixes aren’t working for you, this might be worth exploring for your site. 

### Make sure your third party apps aren't slowing you down

There are a large number of eCommerce technologies that you can use on your site to make the experience easier, and more efficient for your customers. The problem is that these sites often need to fetch a lot of data, which can significantly decrease your site speed. 

This isn’t dependent on your eCommerce platform, either. If a third party has a negative impact on site speed, it will do so regardless of which platform you’re on. 

That’s why it’s important to look into which third parties you’re working with and check how they’re ranked on site speed performance. [Yottaa](https://www.yottaa.com/), an optimization tool for eCommerce sites, puts together [this report](https://www.yottaa.com/resources/2019-ecommerce-3rd-party-index/) each year, which lets you look at the top players in eCommerce and see how working with them will affect your site. 

It’s great to have handy when you’re looking for a new eCommerce solution and you want to check their speed performance. 

## Do reviews affect site speed? 

Because customer reviews tend to be part of such a large scale database, they can be pretty bad offenders in terms of slowing down site speed. As you can see, most of the review platforms available have either an inconsistent negative performance impact (yellow) or a consistent negative impact on performance (red). 

Third Party Review Software Site Speed Competitive Analysis

Fortunately, collecting and [displaying reviews with Trustpilot](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/build-trusted-brand/trustbox-widgets-the-truth-about-website-performance-and-loading-speed) has little to no negative impact on your site speed. 

In fact, this year we were the only customer review platform ranked as having little or no performance impact (green) on your site speed in Yottaa’s roundup.

Trustpilot reviews do not affect site speed

## When you improve your site speed, your SEO is sure to thank you

Let’s flashback to that stat from the beginning for a second: Every second that site visitors have to wait after the 3 second loading mark can cost you 7% in conversions. This means that, chances are, your current load time is high enough that it’s causing you to lose out on would-be customers. 

The bright side is that some of these changes are really easy to implement on your site. 

Go ahead and look into your site speed today so you can start seeing the benefits of higher conversion rates on your site. And while you’re at it, if you’re looking to [increase conversions](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/get-seen-in-search/what-is-conversion-rate-optimisation) on your site, displaying Trustpilot reviews is a great way to boost conversions without dinging your site speed. 

So if you aren’t already collecting reviews with us, why not start today? 

To learn more about everything you can do with reviews, get your free copy of The Complete Guide to Reviews below. 

The beginner’s guide to site speed for SEO

A guide to SEO and reputation

In this guide, we give you four advanced eCommerce SEO strategies that you can use to crowd the search results in your niche and for your branded queries to build your brand and traffic so that you can accomplish your goal of building your business.

If you’re an eCommerce business, then digital marketing is paramount to your business’s success. You need the right products and the right platform, of course, but without great marketing, your products won’t get seen and you won’t make any sales.

Fortunately, there are many tried and true ways to grow your audience that you can leverage such as SEO, Facebook/Instagram advertising, content marketing, display advertising, sponsorships, influencer marketing, and many more.

The challenge lies in the fact that there are so many different channels and if you’re not a marketing expert, then it‘s hard, if not impossible, to know where to start or how to take your marketing to the next level.

If you’ve done the SEO basics on your site and are investing in content marketing and a link strategy with the goal of ranking better, there are ways that you can expedite that process to see results even quicker.

Today, I want to share with you four advanced eCommerce SEO strategies that you can use to crowd the search results in your niche and for your branded queries to build your brand and traffic so that you can accomplish your goal of building your business.

These four strategies are:

- Branded profiles;
- Barnacle SEO;
- Autosuggest and the information net;
- Content funnels (NBED)

### How to use branded profiles for SEO and conversions

If you’re an eCommerce business, you should absolutely own your own platform and brand. Without your own website, you will forever be paying other platforms a percentage of your sales in exchange for their audience, and eventually, you may reach a ceiling on growth because their business doesn’t completely mesh with yours.

But I’m also not arguing that you should only sell your products on your own site! Platforms like eBay and Amazon do well for a reason, mostly because they have huge capital resources and have created a place where others can easily sell their own products. So, as is usually the case, a balanced approach is needed.

If you perform a search for a brand like GoPro, you’ll see that they have crowded their branded search results with profiles on other websites such as:

- Twitter
- YouTube
- Amazon
- Instagram
- Facebook

If you are a small store, then you can leverage profiles just like these to lend your site more credibility when someone searches for your brand. You can even do this as a person:

Screenshot+2017-11-15+14.09.57

Example 1

This is also known as reputation management when an undesired article or site appears in your branded search results as a few have done for GoPro, but it can be a very strong way to show those searching for your brand that you are a legitimate business.

Of course, if you’re trying to rank 10 profiles for your branded terms, it takes dedicated effort to pull this off effectively.

When you’re trying to crowd your own branded search results, you need to:

- Vary the sites and profiles that you link to with branded anchor text when guest posting or listing your site in directories.
- Link to your important profiles from your main website to pass them link equity.
- Prioritize strong websites (use Moz’s MozBar to see their Domain Authority, an indicator of strength) and make sure your profiles there are complete and robust with unique content and whatever else you are able to have (video, etc).

The final strategy here, of course, is to find websites that allow you to also have reviews posted so that searchers trust you because of independent, positive ratings.

Screenshot+2017-11-15+14.24.22

Example 2

### Barnacle SEO for e-commerce websites

Every niche has a few main players that have most of the market share. These businesses, though, are not always the most well-loved so people often search for competitors or alternatives. One great strategy to capitalize on this, is to have your site listed when a potential customer is disenchanted with your large competitors and searches for their brand name with a “competitors” or “alternatives” modifier.

For example, let’s say that you run a tree seed eCommerce site. You sell seeds for a tree that is often seen as an alternative to maple trees, because some people don’t like maple trees.

You type "maple tree alternatives" into Google and see the following results.

Screenshot+2017-11-15+14.31.59

Example 3

There are at least five sites there that you can reach out to in order to either get them to add in another type of tree (and link to you) or add your link as a resource for their site visitors.

This strategy is similar to using Google’s autosuggest to find new keywords to target.

### Autosuggest and the information net

When thinking about SEO for your eCommerce website, you should consider the wider group of questions and modifiers that people search while they are conducting research before they ultimately make a purchase (and hopefully from you!).

Ecommerce businesses can’t just worry about your product and category page rankings. Yes, these are your most important keywords to rank for of course, as they directly drive traffic to you that you know will convert. And if they convert, then they’re great for ranking as well as for driving paid traffic to via SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook/Instagram.

But they are only a piece, albeit a large piece, of the larger SEO puzzle for your eCommerce site. Further up the conversion funnel, your potential customers are doing research before they buy.

This is where a bit of research on your end can pay big dividends by creating the content that answers your potential customer’s questions so that they learn about your brand and are more likely to buy from you in the future. If you build your strategy well, you can also use this to gather email addresses so that you can continue to market to them with a well-optimized email marketing strategy.

Here’s how the autosuggest SEO strategy works so that you can expand your net of keywords.

First, use any or all of the following tools to understand the autosuggested search terms from Google and which ones could drive traffic to your site:

- Soovle
- UberSuggest
- Longtail Pro
- Keywords Everywhere

When I use UberSuggest to search “nike vs” combined with Keywords Everywhere, I get a list of the brands that people are comparing Nike to. If you run a shoes ecommerce site, then this can be a great way to educate your users as well as funnel them to buy from you:

Screenshot+2017-11-16+10.37.13

Example 4

Imagine if you could get your eCommerce website ranking among these publishers. The competition is small and the traffic is high. What more could you want?

The goal is to identify all of these buckets of keyword phrases that your potential customers use when they are in the discovery phase of their search so that when they are ready to buy, they know and recognize your brand and are more likely to buy from you.

### Leveraging reviews on other sites to grow your own organic traffic

Finally, what post on Trustpilot would be complete without talking about reviews?

As an eCommerce site, you need reviews not only of your company but also of your products. If you are a product manufacturer as well as a seller, then you’re probably using other platforms to sell your products.

Let’s take the outdoors industry as an example. The North Face is not only a seller, but they actually manufacture the products as well.

Perform a search for a product of theirs, such as their Thermoball hooded jacket. My query is "the north face men’s thermoball" and I come up with the following sites:

- TheNorthFace.com
- Amazon
- Moosejaw
- Dicks Sporting Good
- REI
- Backcountry.com
- Youtube
- SteepAndCheap.com

All of these results except for Moosejaw have star results showing in the search results. Here's a screenshot of the first four results.

Notice what The North Face has done.

Screenshot+2017-11-16+15.53.39

Example 5

They have built their own property to allow it to have reviews that are then shown in the search results. So they own their own platform, which is absolutely necessary for the longevity of the brand.

They also, however, sell through all of the major providers and both rely on them to get reviews as well as probably actively solicit reviews on those platforms. If everyone rates the jacket well, as is the case with the Thermoball, they are building trust with their potential customers that the product is quality and people are happy.

So what’s the takeaway here?

If you are selling your own product, you should also be using the platforms available to you to tap into their audience and sell more of your products. Own your own platform and optimize your website properly, but this can be another great way to grow your business if the economics make sense.

The same works for your brand since customers might buy a product, but they ultimately buy from a brand. In today’s social media and values driven world, the work you do on your brand influences your customers, builds loyalty with them, and gains repeat buyers. Investing your brand by getting feedback from your customers is one of the best ways to improve your business, regardless of your search rankings. And the best part is that reviews also help your search rankings and clickthrough rates when review stars show in the search results.

__What about you?__

What strategies have you used to build your brand through SEO that don’t involve your own website?

How to use SEO to build your eCommerce reputation — a quick guide

Consumer Insights from the pandemic and what this means for businesses

This year, we took a deep dive into global consumer review data on our platform to uncover some of the trends and challenges from 2020, look at some of the most impacted industries and imagine what the future could look like.

The period of self-isolation we all went through [changed the way consumers now search and shop](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/consumer-behavior-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-global-review-trends-by-industry), while businesses have had to continuously adapt and innovate to survive.

While some industries saw unprecedented sales during the peak of the pandemic, many brands out there have had to face some of the toughest challenges ever in the last few months.

And while many of these changes are temporary, some of them could last in the post-pandemic world.

This year, we took a deep dive into global consumer review data on our platform to uncover some of the trends and challenges from 2020, look at some of the most impacted industries and imagine what the future could look like. In this report, we’ll explore our data and deliver some actionable tips to survive and recover from times of crisis.

## 1. A look back at consumer behavior in 2020: trends & challenges

We started in January 2021 and looked into [consumer activity](https://business.trustpilot.com/reviews/learn-from-customers/consumer-behaviors-that-changed-in-2020-and-what-businesses-can-expect-in-2021) on Trustpilot.com to get a better understanding of the 2020 shift in consumer behavior. The data we analyzed showed that the Shopping & Fashion sector was the most researched industry for customer reviews, even throughout the pandemic. It’s highly possible that people started purchasing more athleisure while being stuck at home or were, perhaps, stocking up on outfits for a post-pandemic world. 


The most researched businesses on Trustpilot.com in the second half of 2020

Interestingly, some of the most reviewed industries of 2020 were B2B businesses, Shopping & Fashion, and Home & Garden. While the B2B industry comes as a bit of a surprise, it’s only natural to see that the Home & Garden industry was doing so well in 2020, as most people started investing more time and money into their daily environment during the early lockdown.

### Conscientious shoppers set a new bar for customer expectations

However, data shows that while [consumers shifted to online shopping](https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/#dossierSummary), people also started favouring local and purpose-driven businesses as the world started facing even more racial injustice, economic instability, and political uncertainty. A Deloitte Digital study found that, in the UK, [3 in 5 consumers purposely chose local businesses](https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/three-in-five-consumers-have-used-more-local-stores-and-services-to-support-them-during-lockdown.html) to help out. In the US, [a Zeno group survey](https://www.zenogroup.com/insights/2020-zeno-strength-purpose) showed that consumers are now 4 to 6 times more likely to support purpose-driven businesses as they were before the pandemic.

Our review data also highlighted that two of the most mentioned keywords in 5-star reviews throughout 2020 were “delivery” and “customer service”. This proves that customer expectations are just as high in times of crisis, and that customer service is still one of the best assets a business can have to build trust and combat uncertainty.

Overall, businesses have really had to adapt to a new reality in 2020; and as consumer purchasing behaviors changed, brands were left with the challenge of constantly trying to keep their head above water. 

In this section, we discussed some of the behavioral changes that we witnessed in 2020. We also identified the most researched and reviewed industries on Trustpilot.com – but what about other industries? Industries who may have been greatly impacted by Coronavirus? In the next section, we’ll review the Health & Wellness sector, as well as the Travel & Tourism industry.

## 2. The industries most impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak

In an effort to better understand the true impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, our team also looked at consumer trends around mental Health & Wellness. With the pandemic hitting and many people losing their jobs and feeling isolated, we wanted to get an understanding of just how much Coronavirus was impacting this industry. 

### The Health & Wellness industry saw significant growth during the pandemic

Perhaps unsurprisingly, consumer demand for mental health and wellness services skyrocketed in 2020:

- Ginger, a teletherapy and mental healthcare app, [saw utilization rates reach their highest ever](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/demand-for-virtual-mental-health-soaring-here-are-notable-trends-who-using-it-and-why) last September, right in the middle of the pandemic. __Usage of their text-based mental health coaching was up 159%__ compared to their pre-covid averages, and __usage of virtual therapy and psychiatry were up 309%__ compared to their pre-covid averages.
- Doctor On Demand [saw massive increases in new patients](https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/demand-for-virtual-mental-health-soaring-here-are-notable-trends-who-using-it-and-why) seeking teletherapy up over 50% throughout October and even higher than the initial spikes when the pandemic hit last spring.

We also looked into our review data to identify trends on our own platform, and uncovered  how often reviews included the phrases *mental health*, *wellness*, and *well-being* on Trustpilot.com.

Guides and reports

Trustpilot Consumer Insights: 7 Must-knows for this holiday season

Get Seen in Search

The new face of SEO: Answer Engine Optimisation

The beginner’s guide to site speed for SEO

How to use SEO to build your eCommerce reputation — a quick guide

Build a Trusted Brand

Brand integrity: the new frontier for marketing

Why ethical fashion brands are future-proof

2020 Consumer Report: Combating Misinformation in the Health + Beauty Sector

Turn Browsers Into Buyers

The complete guide to marketing with customer reviews: 2021 update

7 Tried and tested conversion strategies

5 Unique review strategies to grow your travel business

Learn From Your Customers

Understanding COVID-19’s impact on business + imagining a post-pandemic world

2021 Consumer finance report: How Covid-19 is impacting banking and payments

The changing landscape of automotive retail