MAY 1, 2020 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS— PowerReviews reveals the staggering changes in consumer behavior and interaction with online ratings and reviews over the past two months in its research published today.
The May edition of the PowerReviews Market Trends Snapshot is based on analysis of consumer activity across more than 1.5MM review product pages from the websites of more than 1,200 brands. It reveals:
- Skyrocketing digital sales levels, with an increase of 210% in order volumes between February 2020 and April 2020
- A leap of 63% in eCommerce web traffic between February 2020 and April 2020
- Consumer engagement with reviews up 105% between February 2020 and April 2020
- Review submission levels and length rise in April 2020, while overall consumer sentiment (in the form of average product rating) remains steady
Carol Krakowski – Director, Insights at PowerReviews, states:
“Unsurprisingly and as reported widely elsewhere, our data reveals that digital consumer transactions have surged during these times of self-quarantine and “stay at home” orders. However, the numbers are still staggering. Online sales volumes surged 210% between February 24 and April 15. This continued the trend we saw in last month’s snapshot, when we reported an increase of 101%. That seemed a massive increase but proved to be a sign of what has subsequently followed.
“While product page traffic had been relatively stable in March, this also began to climb in April. However, these increases have not been at the same rate as order volumes – meaning shoppers are becoming even more decisive as conversion rates have also continued to increase. We again attribute these trends to consumers buying lower consideration products so spending less time browsing and comparing products.
“Consumers continue to rely on ratings and reviews content to justify purchase decisions, providing the validation and social proof necessary to drive sales. Engagement with reviews among consumers who purchase continues to be at around double the level of more typical times, while total review engagement has soared over the past two months.”
PowerReviews will be hosting a webinar on Thursday May 7th offering a deepdive into these findings, including an exploration of the trends among brands and retailers from health and beauty.
Online shopping volumes continue to climb relentlessly
eCommerce web traffic also begins to rise in April after staying steady through March.
Review engagement remains skyhigh
Consumer interactions with online reviews more than doubles in COVID-19 period
NOTE: This chart outlines review engagement of consumers who purchase. Given online order volumes are up 210% in the past two months, total review engagement has also increased significantly
Read the full research findings on the PowerReviews blog.
Research Methodology
PowerReviews research is based on analysis of activity across more than 1.5MM product pages from more than 1,200 retail/brand sites between February 24, 2020 and April 24, 2020.
FURTHER INQUIRIES
Andrew Smith
Marketing Director
312-802-9846
ABOUT POWERREVIEWS
PowerReviews (PowerReviews.com) is a software and data company that works with 1000+ leading brands and retailers to bring authenticity and transparency to commerce. The PowerReviews Customer Content Platform has four solutions that help our customers collect and manage customer-generated content to improve the product and customer experience across the customer journey. We help clients meet the evolving need for social proof, accelerating the path to purchase and brand advocacy.
PowerReviews is known for innovation, consultative partnership, and actionable insights, supported by our open platform and approach. Our dedicated team of experts provides thoughtful analysis and turn-key service. PowerReviews is headquartered in Chicago, IL, USA.
