When was the last time you bought something online without checking the reviews? Hopefully never.

When it comes to a brands credibility today, it’s primarily based on what our peers think. And authenticity, while important to have as a brand, is unfortunately not number one. We call this ‘The Amazon Effect’, and it’s not just impacting the e-commerce world.

“Trust” comes from the number of stars that appear next to a product, making the marketing message less and less important to shoppers. Brands can make all the claims they want, but at the end of the day, consumers find comfort in knowing their peers approve, rather than the brand itself. (Makes sense to us)

While this effect hasn’t completely made its way into retail, it’s not too far off. We, as consumers, typically shop online for convenience, and get peace of mind that we are getting “the best” value for our dollar based purely on opinion. A far stretch from the traditional tactics that beautiful package design and catchy headlines have delivered for years.

What’s interesting to us is that retailers have not fully adopted this tactic. Why aren’t we seeing a star rating when walking down the aisle of a Whole Foods, Target or Best Buy? Wouldn’t this make shopping easier? We think so. Just imagine a new 65″ TV with a four-star customer rating graphic on the box or shelf — ugly, but effective.

With all of this in mind, it reinforces the boxes we need to check as marketers. While we have no control over customer reviews, we should be sure to capitalize on them when they are in our favor, as it will only result in more clicks, buys and grabs off the digital and analog shelf.

Thanks for reading, and let us know how we can help you leverage these insights.