Customers of Recreational Equipment Inc. who submit online reviews of gear they've bought at the retail co-op purchase at a 26% higher rate than non-review readers,  according to the vendor who helped implement the online feature.


Since the launch of REI’s reviews feature in August 2007, REI customers have been submitting reviews after making purchases at rei.com, as well as encouraging in-store customers to go online and submit reviews after their in-store purchase.

 

So far, customers have contributed 29,000 reviews for outdoor gear purchased from REI. About 33% of REI's product styles have received at least one review.

All reviews are accessible at rei.com and also at in-store kiosks so that in-store customers can access the same valuable information as online shoppers. All reviews submitted by an REI member include member badges that identify the reviewer as such.


“PowerReviews’ social navigation and tag-based approach means that all REI customers – from beginner kayakers to avid skiers – can search for and evaluate products that have been reviewed by people just like them,” said Brad Brown, VP of E-Commerce and Web Strategy, of REI.


PowerReviews says its technology for collecting, organizing, structuring and moderating relevance-based reviews helps online retailers significantly leverage customer reviews and boost their sales by giving shoppers access to the most meaningful reviews from people just like them.