The home improvement retailer intends to use its online customer opinions to develop a better understanding of the popularity of its product ranges and create new promotional opportunities. As a result, Bazaarvoice has been appointed to implement its hosted Ratings & Reviews solution. Currently, customers who make a purchase online are sent an email from the retailer inviting them to return to the site to leave a product review. A high response rate to the email invitation has given Homebase an initial pool of several thousand reviews. Within the next three months, the service is to be opened up, allowing customers to post reviews directly online rather than wait for an invite – meaning that those buying in-store, or by phone, also have the opportunity to share their views on the products purchased.
“Left alone on the website they do a job, but the far-reaching benefits of customer reviews can be deployed elsewhere," says Scott Fraser, e-commerce proposition manager at Homebase. "We’re investigating where, and how, we are going to use the content, with potential applications being customer brochures and in-store PoS. Another area that will see an impact is our natural search position because of the inherent benefit of featuring customer-created content on our site. Customer reviews can, and will, help us improve almost every area of our online business."
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