Leading UK white goods retailer DRL is using ratings and reviews technology as it looks to make its website Appliance-Reviews.co.uk the first port of call for shoppers considering buying new household appliances.
The company is working with Bazaarvoice, using its platform as the foundation for online communications on the site.
Visitors to Appliance Reviews will be able to share their experiences and opinions with each other and with product manufacturers from Whirlpool and Indesit to LG, Bosch and Hoover.
Product reviews will be aggregated and published across the nine websites that DRL supplies, including its own site AppliancesOnline.co.uk, and sites for Boots, Marks and Spencer and Next, while an Ask & Answer feature, also being rolled out across all its sites, will allow potential buyers to ask questions about specific products. Answers will come from other users, DRL product experts and manufacturers.
DRL has previously seen higher levels of conversion among those who had read product reviews. Product conversion was 88% higher among this group, while abandoned products were 20% lower. At the same time, user-generated content led to thousands of new visitors who found the site through natural search.
Appliance Reviews will also use Bazaarvoice’s Stories platform to allow customers to upload videos and pictures and share their experiences.
Andrew Kirkcaldy, online marketing manager at DRL, said: “We’re turning the online retail industry on its head by allowing users to start their decision-making processes with reviews from like-minded customers rather than by product features.
“This gives customers far more control by changing the way they make decisions about the products they buy, and it will undoubtedly help to deliver a far more personalised service.”
