Customers Love to Write (and Read) Reviews

In the world of online shopping, customers reviews are big and getting bigger, Freedman's study says. "One gifting merchant also noted he was 'bowled over' by the response rate and strong feedback seen on an e-mail request asking consumers to rate products," according to the survey.

Brad Wolansky, vice president of e-commerce for Orvis, said that he especially likes seeing photos of Orvis products in customer's homes because it reinforces the authenticity of the Orvis photo and is a perfect fit for the Orvis brand and community.

We'll look more deeply into this survey as the week progresses. In the meantime, you may want to consider how to incorporate customer reviews into your store. That is, if you are not already doing so. If you are making use of this valuable tool, maybe you can make it even more useful for your customers. Or, perhaps you would write and let us know how customer reviews work for you and your store.