PETCO Uses Online-WOM to Drive Conversion and Lower Return Rates

Challenge:
In any extremely competitive online market the challenge to drive conversion, increase customer engagement, and lower return rates is at the forefront of every marketers mind. PETCO, a leading retailer of premium pet food, supplies, and services expressed the need to find an innovative way to harness its customer voice to improve its business.

Solution:
PETCO knew that they needed a cost effective WOM strategy that provided demonstrable ROI. PETCO decided to leverage the voice of their customers by implementing the Bazaarvoice Ratings & Reviews solution, which went live on their site in October of 2005. Since then, PETCO has seen tremendous results.

Results:
PETCO found that Ratings and Reviews proved to be highly successful at improving numerous aspects of their business:

- PETCO found that products included in their Top Rated Products category had a 49% higher conversion rate compared to the same products within their respective site categories.

- Top Rated Products encouraged customers to spend 63% more compared to all browsers who progressed beyond the homepage.

- "Sort by rating" is now the # 1 default sorting technique on PETCO.com, and has driven 41% higher sales per unique visit.

- PETCO also leveraged their user generated content in e-mail campaigns, finding that there was a 5X higher click-through rate for those e-mails containing ratings and reviews.

- One of the most impressive findings was that Ratings & Reviews led to a significant decrease in product return rates. Products without reviews have a 20.4% higher return rate than those with reviews. Findings also showed that review volume has a tremendous effect on lowering the return rate.

In an eCommerce age where consumers research products ever more diligently, effectively leveraging review content plays a key role in educating the consumer about their potential purchases.

Credit Information
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Client: PETCO
Agency: Bazaarvoice
Budget: Undisclosed
Date of Campaign: Undisclosed