Wal-Mart lets customers have their say with new product review feature
Product reviews and ratings was what Walmart.com shoppers asked for most, the company says, and now they have it. Wal-Mart began testing reviews and ratings last month and, after customers responded with double the number of reviews the company expected, the feature has been added to the Walmart.com site.
“We know close to 75% of Wal-Mart’s 130 million customers are active online which presents a significant opportunity for our online reviews and ratings platform to connect our customers to one another and also help them further engage, communicate, share opinions and learn more about products available at Wal-Mart,” says Cathy Halligan, Walmart.com’s chief marketing officer.
Close to 15% of items in such categories as electronics, home and garden, media and baby already have reviews posted, Wal-Mart says. And a quick scan turns up reviews with critical comments and money-saving tips.
For instance, a shopper identified as txkaren62 of Carrollton, TX, writes that she liked the Acer laptop she bought “but with it having Windows Vista on it, it made it run really slow. Sooo…I’m going to have to return it back to Walmart.” Christinaalaska of Anchorage raved about hew new Canon digital camera, and pointed out it was cheaper on Walmart.com than at the store “even after shipping.”
While the reviewer is not named, the page provides the reviewer’s gender and an age range, such as 35-44 or 45-54. Also noted is how long the reviewer has owned the product and how often it is used. Readers can read other reviews by this reviewer and are asked whether they found this review helpful. The retailer has not decided whether to rank reviews according to their helpfulness ratings, but will be watching the feedback as more reviews are posted, a spokeswoman tells InternetRetailer.com.
Visitors are invited to review items on product pages. In addition, the company says it will invite customers to submit reviews by sending them e-mails a few weeks after they receive an order placed online. Walmart.com says it will post product reviews within about five days after they are received.
Walmart.com is No. 13 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.
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