Browse Reviews, Not Merchandise
February 07, 2012
Over the holiday shopping season, I saw a few jokes about retailer Best Buy. Summing it up, Twitter satirist @badtaglines wrote them a fake slogan: "Best Buy. AKA Amazon's Showroom." The humor comes partially from an uncomfortable truth: well-liked retailers like Best Buy are having trouble keeping up with online competitors' low prices.
But that can't be the whole story. What about the experience of buying big-ticket items like electronics makes so many people prefer shopping online? I think part of it is online reviews. For many shoppers, browsing online reviews has all but replaced browsing actual merchandise.
According the Wall Street Journal, 92% of consumers have more confidence in information they find online than in anything a sales clerk tells them. Even more surprising, 70% of online customers trust product reviews from unknown users more than they trust advertising or experts.
Consumers have always trusted the opinions of friends and neighbors. The only thing that's changed with the internet is access to those opinions. Before making a big purchase, shoppers want to hedge their bets and hear from someone who's been there. Reviews speak volumes more than a shelf talker or 24 year-old sales clerk.
So what could Best Buy learn from all this? Browse their website, and you'll see that they have online reviews down pretty good. Maybe they could bring that experience into the store - place tablets for browsing reviews right next to products on the floor. Arrange merchandise according to rating, just like a shopper would see it on a web page. I think the next few years will bring a greater merger of online and in-store shopping experiences. Online reviews are good for consumers, and that makes them good for retailers too.