Online retailers are increasingly using user-generated content (UGC) as a means to drive sales and improve customer satisfaction, according to a new report.
More than half of all online sellers consider UGC important to company strategy, a survey by online research publisher E-consultancy and Bazaarvoice, a provider of hosted social commerce applications, found.
The Social Commerce Report 2007 found that customer ratings and reviews were currently being used by 28% of e-retailers, and a further 52% were considering these features for their sites.
Nearly 80% of respondents said ratings and reviews led to an improvement in site conversion rates. Other highlighted benefits cited were improved customer retention and loyalty (73%), and better search engine optimisation (59%).
“The research shows that it’s a very healthy environment for e-commerce but increased competition in the marketplace means that companies need to work harder to maintain strong growth,” said Linus Gregoriadis, E-consultancy’s head of research.
“Tapping into social commerce can be a great way of gaining a competitive advantage, for example through ratings and reviews. But apart from the early adopters, this is something a large proportion of online retailers are only just starting to think seriously about.”
When asked what their current spending priorities were, online retailers ranked site content improvement highest (76%), followed by natural search or SEO (71%).
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007