How to Get More Product Reviews for Your Online Store
The short answer to how to get product reviews: email every buyer once the product has arrived and been used, and make leaving a review take one click. Most happy customers won’t review on their own, so you have to ask. Ask everyone, keep it simple, follow the FTC rules and show the results where shoppers make their decision.
Why product reviews are worth the effort
A few reviews change buying behavior. Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center found that a product with five reviews is 270% more likely to be bought than one with none. Verified buyer badges added a further 15% to purchase likelihood.
Source: Spiegel Research Center, Northwestern University, 2017
Photos and videos add more. PowerReviews analyzed more than 25 million product pages across 3,600 sites. When visitors interacted with customer photos and videos, conversion rose by an average of 114% compared with the category baseline.
Source: PowerReviews, Visual UGC Benchmarks, 2022
The rules are now enforced. The FTC’s final rule on fake reviews took effect on October 21, 2024. It bans fake reviews, including buying or selling them, and incentives that depend on a review being positive or negative. The FTC can seek civil penalties from businesses that knowingly break it.
Source: Federal Trade Commission, 2024
How to get more reviews on your website: 7 steps
Ask every buyer, not just the happy ones. Asking only the customers you think are satisfied is called review gating, and the FTC says it could violate the FTC Act. Sending the same request to all recent buyers keeps you on safe ground.
Send the review request email at the right time. Wait until the customer has used the product. Send one reminder about a week later, then stop.
| Product type | First request to test |
|---|---|
| Quick-use (food, beauty) | About 7 days after delivery |
| Apparel and shoes | 1 to 2 weeks after delivery |
| Electronics and furniture | 2 to 4 weeks after delivery |
These timings are a starting point to test, not a published benchmark. Adjust them to your own response rates.
Make it one click. Put the star rating inside the email, so one click records the rating and opens a short form. No login, one question, and a verified buyer badge on the published review.
Ask for a photo and one detail. A prompt such as What size did you order and how did it fit? produces the specific reviews that persuade other shoppers.
Keep incentives compliant. A reward is allowed as long as it doesn’t depend on the review being positive. Offer it to every buyer, ask for an honest opinion and disclose the incentive.
Show reviews where shoppers decide. Place the rating beside the product title and price, as covered in our product page optimization guide. If you switch review apps, import your genuine past reviews so you don’t start from zero.
Answer negative reviews. Reply politely, offer a fix and keep the review visible. Spiegel found purchase likelihood peaks at 4.0 to 4.7 stars, not at a perfect 5.0, so honest criticism makes your social proof more believable.
Reviews work best alongside other trust signals. See why reviews sell more than discounts and whether trust badges really work.
Most stores don’t have a review problem. They have an asking problem. One well-timed, one-click email to every buyer beats any clever incentive.
About Patrik Vavrovič
Key takeaways
Email every buyer once the product has been used, and make the review one click.
Five reviews can lift purchase likelihood by 270% compared with none (Spiegel Research Center, 2017).
When shoppers interacted with customer photos and videos, conversion rose by an average of 114% (PowerReviews, 2022).
Don’t gate requests or pay for positive reviews, and keep honest negative ones visible. The FTC fake reviews rule has applied since October 21, 2024.
FAQ
How do I get product reviews when my store has none yet?
What is the best time to send a review request email?
Can I offer a discount in exchange for a review?
Should I delete negative reviews?
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