A one-star rated product listed on Amazon.com Inc.’s site sells better than a product with no reviews or ratings at all, said Chad Brandon, key account manager of Amazon for athletic footwear manufacturer Asics.
When it comes to new products on an online marketplace, reviews matter more than price, said Fahim Naim, founder of e-commerce consulting firm eShopportunity. Those insights were shared at the “Amazon & Me” workshop this week at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition in Chicago.
Brandon and Nahim both suggested that first-party Amazon sellers, which are manufacturers that sell wholesale to Amazon, utilize Amazon Vine. The Amazon service puts products in front of customers to review. Amazon selects customers based on their reviewer ranks, "which is a reflection of the quality and helpfulness of their reviews as judged by other Amazon customers," according to Amazon. Sellers pay Amazon a fee for the service and can't influence whether the rating is positive or negative. Customers aren't paid to write reviews....
Low ratings are better than no ratings on Amazon? Somehow I just don't get that. It feels instinctively wrong and my sense is it would be better to work harder to get positive ratings.