blog
The hype is real: Building brand trust through positive product ratings
June 27, 2024

Walmart customers seek good value and low prices, but they also want a quality product they can trust.  

When choosing a product amongst multiple options, Walmart customers consider high rating or a high number of positive reviews a strong indicator of customer satisfaction with a product - product reviews are the #1 source of information that inspires their belief in a product’s quality.1 They can also help build customer trust – allowing your brand to stand out, connect authentically, and build credibility.

Here are three ways to leverage ratings and reviews in your Walmart creative to stay competitive and build customer relationships:  

high-ratings

Stand out by showcasing your high ratings

Featuring your product’s high customer rating can be a powerful way to capture attention and stand out amongst competing products within the Walmart home page, category pages, search results, or on social feeds. Of Walmart customers surveyed, 51% of say an ad with a star rating would inspire them to purchase the displayed product.1 High ratings help validate the quality of your product and, most importantly, show happy customers. When using this strategy, be sure to highlight your highest quality products and help customers trust they’re getting the best price at Walmart. Additionally, be sure to build visual hierarchy using this badge by aligning your rating close to your product and be careful not to distract from your product’s focal point.

volume-of-reviews

Gain credibility by highlighting the volume of reviews

It’s not just quality – quantity is important too. 62% of customers say an ad with a star rating and high volume of reviews would inspire them to purchase.1 Showcasing a high volume of ratings in your ad creative can help move customers from considering your product, to making the purchase. This creates a sense of credibility and showcases a product's popularity, building trust in your brand and what your product has to offer. When using this strategy, make your high volume of reviews loud and clear to help showcase the number of customers who love your products, and consider mirroring the popularity in your messaging for maximum exposure and added credibility.

ratings-and-volume-of-reviews

Hype your products by combining high ratings and volume of reviews

The last approach is combining both the rating and high volume of positive reviews. 77% of customers say that reviews inspire their belief in a product’s quality, while 70% of customers say that product ratings inspire their belief in a product’s quality.1 Using a combination in your ad creative can cut down on the research a customer might do elsewhere before purchasing the product. When using this strategy, consider expanding into your brand pages to quickly showcase your most reviewed and highest rated products front and center.

serta-ads

Spotlight on Serta

With the launch of this creative feature, Serta took the opportunity to showcase their high product rating and volume of reviews in a new campaign, speaking to customers who were shopping for new mattresses. Serta’s high product rating and volume of reviews on the advertised product speaks to not one, but many satisfied Walmart customers.   

Serta leveraged brand elements to draw in visual focus and emphasized trust within the copy, mirrored by the high rating and volume of customers leaving reviews. Serta successfully used this new creative feature to help customers cut through the noise, build trust, and drive trust with Walmart customers looking to purchase a new mattress.

"Incorporating customer reviews into our display campaigns has proven to be one of our best strategies. The high ratings and strong review counts instill confidence in customers, leading to higher conversion rates."

Tara Sheeley, Sr. Director, National Accounts, Serta Simmons Bedding LLC

People may come for the deals, but they’re highly influenced by reviews. Select products in your portfolio that have a 4.5 rating or above on Walmart.com and 100 or more reviews (with at least 25% of those reviews verified, non-incentivized, and provided by a non-Walmart associate purchaser on Walmart’s website or app) to qualify for this creative feature and see how your audience responds. To get started with this new creative feature, contact your Walmart Connect account manager.

Source: Walmart Reviews vs Testimonials Survey, First Party Data, Walmart Spark Community, July 2023

Evolve your business

The evolution is happening, and you can be at the forefront of it all. Join Walmart Connect and put our partners, expertise, and data to work for you.

Contact us