When a customer purchases one of your products on Etsy they will be asked to leave a review of your product. Building up reviews on your Etsy store will build your authority on Etsy. This means the more reviews that you have especially if they are five-star reviews the more trust you will build with with new buyers. More positive reviews on your store will ultimately lead to more sales.
Table of contents
What is a review on Etsy?
A review on Etsy is when a customer purchases one of your products and is then asked by Etsy to leave a review about their experience after their purchase. Etsy will ask anybody who has made a purchase from your store, who has an Etsy account, to leave a review on their experience purchasing a product from your store.
Nobody is forced to leave a review by Etsy however customers will be reminded when they log into their Etsy account about leaving reviews for products they have purchased. The only one customers can remove the pop-up notification to leave a review on a product they have purchased is by leaving a review.
A review is likely the first thing a first-time customer will read before purchasing from your store. If you think about it from your perspective if you were to buy something from Amazon what is the first thing you would do? You would probably read the reviews of that product.
Why are Etsy reviews so important on Etsy?
Etsy Algorithm & Reviews
Etsy reviews are so important on Etsy because they help to boost your products within the algorithm.
If Etsy sees that customers are having a positive experience with your store over and over again they are more likely to show your products to new-time customers on Etsy.
At the end of the day, Etsy is also a business and they want to promote products that are going to give customers who are shopping on Etsy a positive experience. This is why they are going to boost products within the algorithm that are giving their customer a positive experience.
Turns Cold Buyers Into Warm Buyers
If you have been in business awhile then you have probably heard the term warm buyers and cold buyers.
Etsy reviews help to warm up a buyer.
Who is a cold buyer?: They are someone who doesn't know anything about your business or the products that you sell. They may have come across your store on the Etsy search results page while searching for products. They may now be looking at your store at the other products you have on offer but they are not ready to make a purchase because they are still sussing you out.
This is because the trust between you and that customer has not been built as they have never purchased from you before.
When a cold buyer wants to make a purchase they want to make sure that the investment that they are about to make is going to be a good one. This means they are likely to look at your Etsy reviews to see how other people's experiences have been with your store.
If you have positive Etsy reviews on your store then this is likely to turn a cold buyer into a warm buyer. This is because they can see that lots of other people have had positive experiences with your store meaning that they start to understand that they can trust you as a shop.
How long does a customer have to leave a review on your Etsy store?
The customer has 100 days to leave the purchase about your product on Etsy. So from the date of delivery to 100 days afterwards that customer has a chance to leave a review on your store about the product that they have purchased.
Does a customer need to have an Etsy account to leave a review?
Yes. A person will need to have an Etsy account to leave a review about your product. If one of your customers has checked out as a guest then they will not be able to leave a review on your Etsy store unless they make an Etsy account.
How does a customer leave a review on Etsy?
After a customer has purchased from your store Etsy will send that customer an email asking them to leave a review about the product they have purchased.
When a customer logs into their Etsy account they will also see a pop-up notification where it is he will ask them to leave a review on the product that they have purchased. This pop-up will remain in place for 100 days after the purchase has been made.
A customer will also find a request to leave a review under purchases and reviews underneath their profile on their Etsy account.
Can I respond to reviews on Etsy?
Yes, and it is recommended that you reply to all of the reviews that are left on your Etsy store. A simple "thank you for your review" is enough or you can go into more detail about how are you can appreciate somebody's review.
Replying in a positive and timely manner to anybody who has left you a review shows that you care about your customers and what they have to say. This again builds up trust between you and brand-new customers who have never purchased from you before as it shows you are responsive.
The other thing to note about responding to reviews on Etsy is that when you respond to a review on Etsy that customer can no longer change or edit their review.
This is a great way of locking in any five-star reviews.
How should I respond if I get a negative review?
Before publicly responding to a negative review you should reach out to the customer who has left you that negative review. You should try and see if you can resolve the issue via private messages.
Reach out to the customer who left a negative review
If you can resolve the issues that the customer has been having then you should ask very politely if the customer would consider changing their negative review into a positive review.
Example response:
"Hi X! I have just received your review and I am sorry to hear you experienced X issue with my product. I was unaware you were having such an issue and would of fixed it for you if you had reached out via private message. I would be happy to (replace, refund, partial refund, or offer a discount) on the product you have purchased"
Once they respond to your message in a hopefully positive manner you can then ask them to change their review into a more positive one
The customer refuses to change their negative review
If the customer refuses to change their review then you should always try to respond to the negative review left on your store in a positive manner. You can even write in your response that you reached out to the customer and tried to fix the issues that they were having and offered a refund or an alternative so that other customers know that your customer service is great, regardless of what that customer has said.
Example response:
"I have contacted X about the issue they were having and have offered to fix or replace X's product. This was a once-off issue and the issue that this customer has had has now been resolved."
Negative Reviews Happen In Business
It is upsetting when you get a negative review and nobody likes to get one however it happens to all businesses and you have to remember that this is part of the business.
Even the best brands in the world will occasionally get a negative review.
If the customer gives you criticism within the review then try to take some constructive criticism away from it. This is a chance to change or adapt the product in a way to completes the overall customer experience on your store.
It goes without saying that some customers will never be happy regardless of what you do for them and unfortunately, we can not do anything about these people.
Try your best to not take it to heart, you are doing great!
From one business owner to another - nobody knows what it is like to walk in your shoes until they start a business themselves.
Can I do anything to stop a bad review before it happens?
In a lot of cases if the customer is unhappy with what I have purchased they will reach out to you via messages before leaving a review.
My advice is to reply to a customer's concerns as quickly as possible and my recommendation is to do it within 24 hours.
Try your best to fix the issue that the customer is having and if they are 100% unhappy and you cannot fix the issue then sometimes it's best just to offer them a full or partial refund.
In the long term refunding just one sale but avoiding a negative review from that customer can prevent you from losing further sales down the line if that customer were to leave a scathing review on your store and put other customers off buying from you.
Should I promote positive Etsy reviews?
Absolutely! There is no better marketing strategy then using social proof.
You can use examples of the positive reviews on your social media accounts, within the descriptions of your Etsy listings, within the images of your Etsy listings and even in your email marketing campaigns.
Using positive Etsy reviews on your social media profiles
You can show off your positive reviews in places like your Instagram stories, Instagram reels, Instagram highlights, and even in your profile grid.
You could create a TikTok video where you talk about a positive review that you just got and talk about how excited you are about it.
Course you can use them to promote your business on places like Pinterest or Facebook as well.
Using positive reviews on your Etsy listings
You can show off your positive reviews within your product descriptions and also on the photos that you're adding to each product on your Etsy store.
Customers shop in different ways but normally the first place that they look is your shop listing photos. So having a photo of some of the positive reviews that you have received for the products that you sell on your Etsy store can be a great way of turning a cold customer into a warm customer.
Adding the positive Etsy reviews that you got for the product that you were selling on your Etsy store can be a great way to bulk out your product description. Having them in your product description is a great way to show off what people have said about the product that they are looking at. This builds trust and turns a cold customer into a warm customer who is more likely to make a purchase
Email marketing campaigns
If you send out email marketing campaigns to your Etsy customers then showing off some of the positive reviews that you have recently got on your Etsy store is a great way of boosting sales.
There is nothing more than a person loves to see than other people raving about a product - people want what is in demand.
Should I ask for reviews on my Etsy store?
Yes. My advice is to offer an incentive to people who have purchased something from your store to leave a review.
I have learnt from Etsy that if people are given an incentive to leave a review day they are much more likely to
- Leave a review and
- Leave a positive review
This incentive could be
- You're offering them a discount on their next order if they leave a review.
- That you would like to send them a gift if they leave a review on your Etsy store
- If you sell digital products then you could always offer them a digital product for free if they leave an Etsy review
- That you will offer them free shipping on their next order if they are to leave a review
These types of incentives work great and people are normally quick to leave a review once they get a message from your offering one of these things.
Example message
Hey X!
Thank you so much for your recent purchase! I hope you love your product and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
I would be so grateful if you could leave me a review as it will help other people find my products on Etsy. In return, I would love to offer you X.
Thank you again,
Your name.
Etsy reviews conclusion
Etsy reviews are vital for any Etsy store. It allows shoppers on Etsy to see that your store is in high demand and that lots of people are raving about the products that you are selling.
It also helps to build trust between new buyers and your store. New shoppers will always check out the reviews of an Etsy store before making a purchase and if your store's reviews are positive then you are much more likely to make a sale.
Negative reviews are part of business so if you get a negative review try not to take it to heart, as hurtful and frustrating as it may be. These things happen but is it important to reply positively to try and help the customer who left a negative review and move on.
If you have been an Etsy store that has been consistently getting positive reviews then just know that you can't make everybody happy and you will be back to making positive reviews very soon!
I hope enjoyed this guide to Etsy reviews and if you have any questions about Etsy reviews or Etsy in general then please feel free to reach out to me at any time
