CPG eCommerce Intelligence: How CPG Brands Can Optimize Online Sales Part 2

In part two of our blog series on how CPG brands can better optimize their performance on the digital shelf, we look at how product ratings and reviews have a significant impact on search ranking and conversions – and why it’s paramount for your product to appear on page one of Amazon search results if you want potential shoppers to find you.

In our earlier post, we looked at the digital shelf’s disproportionate impact on grocery sales, with Deloitte predicting that by the end of this year,  50% of grocery sales will be digitally influenced.

Two factors that have a significant impact on a product’s conversion rate and sales are consumer ratings and reviews, as well as where your product ranks in Amazon’s search results. Let’s look at both of these areas to understand their growing importance for CPG brand manufacturers.

Product ratings impact search ranking & conversion

We know that online ratings and reviews are increasingly one of the most powerful influencers of buying decisions for the majority of shoppers. In a survey by Dimensional Research at the end of 2013, an overwhelming 90 percent of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews.

Understanding what shoppers are saying about your brand – both positive and negative – can help to refine your product, positioning and pricing. The more ratings your brand has, and the higher the average rating, has a direct impact on conversions and sales.

Source: Anonymised data analyzed for Profitero customer in February 2015

In our latest Amazon FastMovers report for US Grocery, which identifies those products with the best cumulative sales performance on Amazon’s Best Sellers list in February, the average grocery product had 1,379 reviews with an average product rating of 4.5.

Keurig single-cup coffee capsules continue to top the Grocery US FastMovers 100 ranking, comprising 4 of the top 5 products – with one of their products having almost 7,000 reviews alone, underlining the importance of consumer reviews to a product’s sales.

Source: Amazon FastMovers Report US Grocery, February 2015

Just 30% of searchers click past page one on Amazon

Amazon is the number one shopping destination for millions of consumers searching for an array of products from books to electronics and increasingly, grocery and CPG goods.

According to research from Millward Brown Digital, the average shopper returns to Amazon 2.8 times per month to search for products – however of the 75 million consumers who conducted at least one search on Amazon in September 2014, only 30% ever clicked beyond the first page of their search results. 

For CPG brand manufacturers, being on Amazon, and more importantly being seen by potential shoppers is paramount to eCommerce success. Identifying key search terms for your product, monitoring where your product appears in the search term rankings, and optimizing your product content, are all critical elements to ensuring your brand has greater visibility on a consumer’s digital path to purchase.

For further CPG eCommerce intelligence and recommendations on how to optimize your brand on the digital shelf, download the full presentation: Winning on the Digital Shelf: How CPG Brands Can Optimize Their Online Sales.