Small retailers can reap the benefits of product reviews. These benefits can be a competitive advantage over large retail chains. Consumers today are highly educated and know where to find information before purchasing. It is important that small businesses provide this information. Feedback from customers is the most valuable type of content that independent retailers can provide. It proves that the brand is trustworthy and offers high quality products.

Small retailers often overlook the importance and value of product reviews. This is a missed opportunity because customer reviews can foster loyalty and provide raw material for business strategies to increase sales and revenue.

Independent retail brands can reap five benefits from product reviews:

1. Establish Credibility

Independent retailers are often less prominent than big chains. E-commerce websites can benefit from product reviews to boost their SEO. Product reviews, which provide peer-reviewed information on the experiences of other customers with your brand and products, help to build trust. This trust and authenticity can be built with customers and will lead to repeat purchases and a stronger relationship.

2. Attract and keep customers at your properties

Major search engines use reviews and ratings to drive product-specific traffic for retailer websites. Combine this with Google Seller Ratings, Google Product Listing Ads, and star ratings, ratings, and reviews to help retailers get consumers to their product pages. Reviews are less likely for products to rank highly in search results, and thus attract less organic traffic.

Retailers expect customers to read reviews before making a purchase decision. Ninety-five per cent of customers use reviews, and eighty-six per cent say they are an integral part of their buying decision. Online shoppers are more likely to search for websites that have product reviews. Without reviews, retailers risk customers leaving their site to visit rival sites, where they might not only read reviews but also make a purchase.

3. Connect like-minded customers

Independent retailers often fall into niche markets and market segments where the brand’s ability engage like-minded customers is crucial. By connecting people with similar interests, passions and values to their products, product reviews can build trust and loyalty.

An independent retailer of camping goods must attract passionate campers. Camping enthusiasts can interact by sharing and responding to reviews written by others. The reviewers can be considered experts in the community of the retailer, since 69 percent believe that a source is reliable and trustworthy if they have used the product before. These reviews can be a source of valuable information to new customers who are looking for guidance on which products to buy.

Because niche customers often have expertise in the area, reviews can be authentic, helpful, and informed. This improves the quality of the content on the retailer’s website, boosts SEO, and increases the likelihood of repeat sales from existing and new customers.

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4. Capture Material to Market Activities

Independent retailers are often at a disadvantage in terms of marketing spending. Reviewing products can help offset a smaller marketing budget by providing quality content that can be used to market.

You have many options for reusing product reviews in marketing materials. Retail marketers who are successful use consumer reviews and other user generated content on social media channels alongside product listings and advertising campaigns offline.

5. Improve Quality

Independent retailers can be ruined by quality issues. Independent retailers must build a brand reputation and spread word-of-mouth marketing to promote their quality products.

Independent retailers can gather information from customers about any problems or concerns they have with specific products through product reviews. Independent retailers can quickly spot problems in stock items and provide solutions to prevent damage to the brand’s reputation.

To be successful in the retail industry, independent retailers must include product reviews in their business strategies. These are just five benefits of product reviews that can help small retailers succeed. Independent retailers must ensure that they can keep up with the rapid growth of user-generated content. Ratings and reviews can seamlessly integrate with retailers’ platforms, making them a step closer to success.

The Internet of Things’s Impact on Retail

In science fiction movies, you could only see machines and humans communicating with one another years ago. Minority Report is an excellent example. Tom Cruise walks into The Gap, and is immediately greeted with a digital screen. He also receives a personalized product suggestion. This exact concept is becoming more common for shoppers and retailers alike. The Internet of Things (IoT), which connects us seamlessly to a growing network of physical objects such as thermostats, health monitors, and cars, is becoming a reality. These objects can now be accessed, controlled, and interacted with via our mobile devices – powered embedded sensors and computers. This will transform the way that we live and work.

Gartner, a research and technology company, predicts that there will be almost 26 billion connected devices by 2020. The projected revenue is more than $300 billion. The IoT is already making its way into the workplace. But if you focus on retail, there are few industries better positioned to take advantage of its potential. Retail is a vital part of the economy. The IoT offers retailers a huge opportunity to reinvent themselves.

If you ask any retailer, they will tell you that their primary goals revolve around improving operational efficiency, customer experience, and identifying growth opportunities. These are the areas that the IoT could open for retailers who want to take the leap. Here are the key areas it can make a significant impact on your business.

Smart Stock and Sharp Logistics

Retailers can monitor inventory and ensure that products are always in stock by pulling data from sensors at the warehouse and on shelves. The ability to use GPS and other location-based technologies to improve shipping logistics can be a boon. This innovation helps get products to consumers faster. It recommends new delivery routes and suggested speeds. Notifying drivers about accidents and traffic stops can also help.

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Next Generation Vending Machines

Forget about crumpled cash or pockets full of change. Smart vending machines make it easy to transform consumers’ purchasing habits by using big data, the cloud and mobile analytics. Vendors can make recommendations and offers based on user preferences and purchase history by allowing users to shop from their smartphones and the associated apps. Sensors embedded in the machine give insight into inventory levels, temperatures, and operating functions. This allows for greater operational efficiency and higher profits.

Connected Carts

Smart carts are able to streamline shopping and remove many of the hassles that shoppers currently face. Smart carts are available to shoppers as soon as they scan their loyalty cards. They will be presented with personalized recommendations and sales during the shopping experience. Location-based sensors are a great way to save time and help shoppers find the products they need. Customers can also track their spending by scanning the products while they place them in their carts. This same process allows customers to checkout directly from their carts without having to wait in long lines.

In-Store Intelligence

The IoT empowers retailers with the ability to make smart, real-time decisions by leveraging data insights from consumers and their smartphones. This allows them to improve customer experience in-store. Swarm allows retailers to use data from social media and mobile app engagement as well as location-based sensor technology to monitor traffic and activity in-store. This allows for better decision-making including targeted promotions, ads and resource allocation. Retailers can also analyze the data to identify patterns and understand customer behavior to improve customer service.