Five-star growth: Using online ratings to design better products

Ideally, engineers will focus on consumer insights as soon as the first reviews and ratings get posted. Does a product feature seem to incite almost universal wrath or lengthy complaints? Do the most positive reviews tend to dwell on certain elements? If engineers understand the customer’s viewpoint, they can set priorities and make corrections bef... See more

Even a small rise in score, such as an increase from 4.2 to 4.4 stars, often produced a meaningful improvement in sales. Across the 55 categories, the total growth opportunity—the cumulative sales increase that could be attributed to improvements in products’ star ratings—was 37 percent over the span of the growth horizon. This opportunity varied g... See more

With inflation beginning to rise, retailers and consumer-packaged-goods (CPG) companies may need to raise prices to cover their costs. Simultaneously, they face increased competition from start-ups and from companies with relatively inexpensive offerings. But, if consumer reviews of a company’s products are less positive than those of competitors, ... See more