Skip to main content
Back to E-commerce Dictionary

Customer Reviews and Ratings

Content and digital asset managementIntermediate Level

Customer reviews and ratings are buyer feedback on a product: a star score plus a written review that helps other shoppers decide.

Image by · CC BY 4.0

What is Customer Reviews and Ratings?

Customer reviews and ratings are feedback that buyers leave about a product: a rating is a score, usually one to five stars, and a review is the written experience behind it. Shown on product pages and marketplaces, they help other shoppers judge quality, fit and reliability before they buy. A review platform or the shop system collects the reviews; the product page shows the average rating, the number of reviews and the individual comments. Reviews differ from product information: product data says what the item is, while reviews say how it performs in use. Recurring questions in reviews, such as "runs small" or "does it fit model X?", often point to missing details in your product content. Fixing those gaps is part of managing your digital shelf.

Why Customer Reviews and Ratings matters for e-commerce

Online shoppers cannot touch a product, so customer reviews and ratings fill in what the product page cannot: how it feels, fits and holds up. A product with a clear average rating and enough reviews is easier to trust than one without. Reviews also work as free product research. They show which details buyers miss, which complaints repeat and where the description sets the wrong expectation. Feeding those lessons back into your product content helps the next buyer decide.

Examples of Customer Reviews and Ratings

  • 1Rating: 4.6 out of 5 from 212 reviews, Shown: Next to the product title on a webshop
  • 2Review: "Runs small, order one size up", Action: Add a fit note and size chart to the product content
  • 3Review with photo: A buyer shows the sofa in a small living room, Effect: Shoppers see real proportions
  • 4Marketplace: Product rating on a marketplace listing, Action: Answer repeated questions in the bullet points
Image by · CC BY 4.0

How WISEPIM Helps

  • Turn questions that repeat in reviews into clear attributes and descriptions with AI enrichment in WISEPIM.
  • Add fit, size and compatibility details to many products at once with bulk editing.
  • Use Quality Guard rules to flag products that miss the details buyers keep asking about.
  • Keep product facts the same on every connected channel, so reviews are not caused by conflicting information.

Learn more about Product Enrichment: enrich product data with AI at scale.

Common mistakes with Customer Reviews and Ratings

  • Ignoring negative reviews instead of answering them and fixing the cause.
  • Letting spam and fake reviews stay online, which makes every review less credible.
  • Making the review form so long that buyers give up.
  • Waiting for reviews instead of asking recent buyers for feedback.
  • Deleting honest negative reviews or rewarding positive ones, which breaks trust and may break consumer law.

Tips for Customer Reviews and Ratings

  • Ask for a review a few days after delivery, when the buyer has used the product.
  • Show the average rating and review count near the product title.
  • Reply to negative reviews with a concrete solution.
  • Read reviews monthly and add missing details to your product content.
  • Publish clear review rules so moderation is fair and predictable.

Trends around Customer Reviews and Ratings

  • Photo and video reviews that show products in real use.
  • AI summaries of reviews that list the most common pros and cons.
  • Stricter rules against fake reviews in the EU and other markets.
  • Verified-buyer labels that show the reviewer actually bought the product.
  • Review content used by AI shopping assistants to answer questions.

Tools for Customer Reviews and Ratings

  • Trustpilot: Review platform for company and product reviews.
  • Yotpo: Review and user-generated content platform for webshops.
  • Bazaarvoice: Platform for collecting and syndicating product reviews to retailers.
  • Kiyoh and Feedback Company: Review platforms widely used by Dutch webshops.
  • WISEPIM: PIM for turning review insights into complete product attributes and descriptions.

Related Terms

3D Model ManagementA+ Content (Enhanced Brand Content)AI-powered product content creationAlt-Text Accessibility ManagementAsset TransformationAugmented Reality (AR) Product Visualization

Also Known As

Product reviewsProduct ratingsCustomer feedbackUser-generated reviews

Frequently Asked Questions

A rating is a score, such as four out of five stars, that is quick to compare. A review is the written explanation of the buyer's experience. Most shops show both: the average rating at the top and the reviews below it.

Use the review feature of your shop system or a review platform that sends buyers a request after delivery. Show the average rating and the number of reviews near the product title and the individual reviews lower on the page. Mark up the rating with structured data so search engines can read it.

Only when a review breaks your published rules, for example because it is fake, offensive or about a different product. Removing honest negative reviews misleads shoppers and is restricted by consumer law in many countries. Responding politely is usually the better choice.

Reviews show what buyers expected and did not find. If many reviews mention sizing, materials or compatibility, add those details to the description and attributes so future buyers have the answer before they order.

Still have questions?

Can't find the answer you're looking for? Please get in touch with our team.

Contact Support

Keep exploring

Hand-picked next steps to go deeper.