A good customer review settles one doubt a shopper has before buying: how it fits, whether the color matches the photos, how it holds up or how fast it came. It adds a detail learned once the parcel is open, and a photo helps. Below are 10 customer review examples, written as samples for this page, and what each does.
Your product page has 14 reviews. Nine say "Love it!", three say "Fast shipping", and a shopper still emails to ask if the medium runs small. Every review is kind, and none of them answers her question.
What makes a customer review useful?
A useful review answers the question a shopper has before paying, with a detail they can check against their own life. Stars alone fall short: in a 2023 PowerReviews survey of 8,153 US shoppers, 56% trusted a star rating alone less than one with a written review.
The reviews that help most share four habits.
- They name the doubt: fit, color, quality, delivery or price.
- They give a measure, such as a height and usual size, a number of washes or the days it took to arrive.
- They admit a flaw when there is one. A four-star review with one gripe reads as written by a person.
- They add a photo when looks matter.
Shoppers who look for customer photos and videos want to see the product in real life (89%), get a sense of size (72%) and judge quality (70%), per a PowerReviews survey of 15,870 US shoppers released in February 2024.
10 customer review examples that help shoppers decide
Every review below is sample wording written for this page, not a real customer's, so never post one on your store as a review. Read them as the answers you want from your own buyers. Seven give five stars and three hold one back.
Fit and size
Sample 1: five stars, a jacket. "I'm 5 foot 6 and usually wear a medium. The medium fits through the shoulders with room for a sweater, and the sleeves end at my wrist. Between sizes? Take the smaller one."
A height, a usual size and where it fits let a shopper picture it on their own body.
Sample 2: four stars, running shoes. "Runs about half a size small. My usual 9 pinched at the toes, so I swapped it for a 9.5, and the new pair came in four days. Comfortable from the first walk once the size was right."
The missing star buys trust, and the swap answers the next worry: what if it doesn't fit?
Color and how it looks in person
Sample 3: four stars, a sweater. "The green is darker than on my screen, closer to olive than mint. I like it more this way. If you want the bright shade in the photos, this isn't it."
It talks the shopper who wanted mint out of buying, which is one return fewer.
Sample 4: five stars, a vase, with a photo. "Photo attached next to a coffee mug for size. The vase is smaller than I pictured, about 8 inches tall, but heavy and evenly glazed."
A familiar object shows size better than a number. In Baymard's product page research, shoppers use customer photos to check that the store's own photos are true to the product.
How it holds up
Sample 5: five stars, a T-shirt. "Six washes on cold and it hasn't shrunk or pilled. The seams are still straight, and the black hasn't faded."
Only someone who has owned it for weeks can say this.
Sample 6: four stars, a backpack. "I paid more than I usually spend on a backpack. After a year of daily use the zips still run smoothly and the bottom hasn't worn through. One gripe: the side pocket is too small for my water bottle."
A long test and one honest flaw make a high price easier to accept.
Delivery and gifts
Sample 7: five stars, a lamp. "Ordered Sunday night and it came Wednesday, in a padded box with nothing scratched. The tracking updated every day."
Real days beat "fast shipping", because a shopper can count them against a deadline.
Sample 8: five stars, a wallet. "Bought it as a gift for my dad. It came in a box good enough to hand over as it was, with no price slip inside. He has used it every day since."
Gift buyers worry about the box and the receipt, and this one answers both.
Taste, and a problem put right
Sample 9: five stars, coffee beans. "Medium roast that tastes of chocolate, not burnt. A 12 oz bag lasts me about two weeks at two cups a day."
Taste in plain words, plus how long a bag lasts, tells a shopper whether it's worth the price.
Sample 10: five stars, a store review. "My first order came with a broken clasp. I sent a photo on Monday, and a replacement arrived Friday without my having to send the old one back."
A shopper new to your store wonders what happens if something goes wrong, and this review answers before they ask.
How do you get more useful customer reviews?
Ask the question you want answered, and ask every buyer, not just the ones you think loved it. A request that asks "How did it fit?" points the buyer at the detail. "Leave us a review" invites "Love it!" The review request email templates cover the wording and the day to send.
Ask for a photo where looks matter, and say what to shoot: the fit in a mirror, the color by a window, the size next to something everyone owns.
A reward, if you give one, goes to every honest review, whatever its rating. Never write reviews yourself, and never post a review by your staff without saying they work for you. In the US, the FTC's rule on reviews bans fake reviews and rewards tied to a good rating. This isn't legal advice.
A one-line review still counts. Publish it, thank the buyer, and ask the next ones about the detail.
Where should customer reviews show?
Put reviews where the doubt comes up: near the price and the size buttons, and as stars on collection cards. The product page guide shows where each part sits.
Reviews matter more as the price climbs. Northwestern's Spiegel Research Center found that showing reviews lifted conversion by 380% on a higher-priced product, against 190% on a cheaper one.
Keep the reviews under five stars on show. Hiding the low ones while the rest pass for all your reviews breaks the same FTC rule. To gather your reviews on one page, build a testimonial page.
How does Sledge collect and show reviews like these?
Sledge is a Shopify app that collects reviews on your own store: shoppers leave a star rating, the review itself and as many as five photos. On the product page, "Add a review" opens a short form: stars from "Love it!" to "Dislike it", up to 1,000 characters of review, then a first name and an email. "Enable auto publish" is on from the start, with a "Minimum rating" of "4 stars & up", so reviews of four and five stars post by themselves and lower ones wait until you publish them.
Under Tools, then Product Review, the Sledge admin lists the places a review can show:
- Product Reviews, on the product page.
- Sidebar Reviews, a slide-out panel.
- Happy Customer, one page of product and store reviews, on two tabs.
- Snippets, a small carousel of reviews for search, collection and product pages.
- Trust Badge, your average rating and review count.
The box where shoppers type shows the hint "Share your experience..." until you change it. In Product Review, then Translation, the row "Form Review Placeholder" holds that hint. You can rewrite it as a question, such as "How did it fit, and how does it look in person?" One hint shows on every product, so keep it general.
Sledge doesn't send review requests or import reviews from another app, so pair it with a request email. Every paid plan includes reviews, from Pro at $29.99 a month, and they work during the 14-day free trial.
FAQ
Questions, answered
-
14-day free trial
Explore Sledge on your store before you decide to commit.
-
No credit card required
Start improving your store with no upfront commitment.
-
Setup in minutes
Get Sledge running without a lengthy setup process.
-
Built to grow sales
Turn shopper behavior into actions that help you sell more.
What is an example of a satisfied customer review?
Here is one, written as a sample for this page: “I'm 5 foot 6 and usually wear a medium. The medium fits through the shoulders with room for a sweater.” It works because it answers the fit question with a measure a shopper can hold up against their own size. Five stars alone can't do that.
What should a good customer review say?
It should answer what the next shopper wonders: how it fits, whether the color matches the photos, how it holds up and how fast it came. A measure helps, such as a usual size, a number of washes or the days it took to arrive. One honest flaw makes the rest easier to believe.
Can I write reviews for my own store?
Not posing as a customer. In the US, the FTC's rule on reviews bans writing or buying reviews that pretend a reviewer exists or used the product. A review by an owner or manager has to say how they are tied to the store. Ask your real buyers instead, all of them. This isn't legal advice.
How do you get customers to write detailed reviews?
Ask about the detail you want. “How did it fit?” or “Does the color match the photos?” gets a fuller answer than “Leave us a review”. Ask for a photo where looks matter, and send the request once the parcel has arrived. If you offer a reward, give it for any honest review, whatever the stars.
Should you reply to positive reviews?
Yes, briefly and specifically. Thank the buyer and name one thing they wrote, such as “Glad the medium worked with a sweater underneath.” In Sledge, the Reply button in your review list adds your answer under the review. A reply to an unhappy review takes more care, so see how to respond to negative reviews.
Do your reviews answer the size question?
Start a 14-day free trial and let buyers add photos to their reviews on your product pages. On a paid plan, Growth Intelligence can tell you when under 30% of your products have reviews and name the top sellers to start with. It shows what its fixes could earn as one dollar total, labeled "Est. potential".
