Albertsons Shopper Product Ratings and Reviews

Albertsons has partnered with Power Reviews to add a familiar Amazon feature to its e-commerce platform – shopper product ratings and reviews. Reviews have become more important in this economy as people look for a somewhat guarantee that what they are thinking about buying is a good choice – and peer reviews have become a mainstay on many sites – but until now it really hasn’t become mainstream on grocers’ websites.

According to PowerReview’s recent research, 83% of grocery shoppers say they are more likely to purchase a new grocery item online if customer reviews exist for that product. Top categories for which online grocery shoppers want to access reviews include personal care items (79%), home care items (72%), non-perishable packaged foods (49%), frozen foods (41%) and soft drinks (37%), among others. Albertsons is counting on this new feature to continue to fuel its e-commerce growth – on a two-year stacked basis, according to Albertsons, the retailer has seen its digital sales grow by 287%. The truth is that product reviews – whether they be good or bad reviews serve as a guide for us. Reviews can build or erode the trust between brands and their customers. They offer insights into the products that we might not have thought about and give us a more secure feeling about our decisions – especially if the reviews are from like minded people. The problem however – just as we have seen on Amazon – is that many brands urge – or order – their employees to go online and give their own product s a positive review – which could be misleading.

For Albertsons and PowerReview to make this a successful tool for shoppers, they will have to closely monitor just who is posting the review – otherwise it may be just another sham.