As longtime readers of the eCommerce Cache know, we’re often advocates of user reviews on shopping sites of all shapes and sizes. They’re an easy way to create a social shopping atmosphere, and good reviews almost always result in higher overall conversions. Because of this, we’re always excited to offer you any tips we find around the web that can help you improve your own store’s user-generated content and help you decide if user reviews are right for your site. Yesterday, Marketing Pilgrim posted notes on what must have been a fascinating presentation at the Internet Retailer Conference outlining “Four Things You Should Know About Collecting User Reviews.” Below are the first two facts to keep in mind when considering user reviews for your site, but for the rest, you’ll have to check out the post.

1) User reviews have a huge impact on sales. JC Whitney reviews utilize a five star rating. Products that rated five stars saw a 16% increase in revenue, while products that rated four stars saw a 8% increase. However, products that rated three stars saw a 10% decrease in sales. Two stars resulted in a 23% decrease and one star resulted in a 31% decrease in revenue.

2) Companies need to aggressively solicit reviews. JC Whitney drove substantial reviews through an initial sweepstakes, and subsequent spikes in reviews were tied to post-sale emails. Do not expect reviews to come in without some effort…

Read the rest here.