Buying eyeglasses online can be a challenging process. After all, there is a multitude of factors to consider, including face shape, lens strength and overall style and durability of the frames.
Using consumer ratings and reviews, FramesDirect.com provides shoppers with a wealth of knowledge and insight regarding the quality and style of its glasses and eyewear. With Trustpilot, the eTailer collects approximately 3,600 reviews a year, leading to a 4.1 star rating, which it displays in search engine results.
Year over year, the FramesDirect.com business has grown by 32%. The team attributes a significant fraction of this growth to making ratings and reviews a part of the brand experience.
Advertisement
“If some customers are tentative about buying eyewear online, they may pay more attention to ratings and reviews because they don’t understand the technical side of buying eyewear,” said Brad Berbetter, COO of FramesDirect.com. “They want to make sure potential purchases have good ratings because it makes them feel more comfortable spending a few hundred dollars on new eyewear.”
Due to Trustpilot’s reputation among retail peers, FramesDirect.com implemented the technology, according to Berbetter. Within two months, the eTailer integrated into its IT framework.
Although FramesDirect.com cannot measure the overall influence ratings and reviews have on transactions, “we have complete faith that they make an impact,” Berbetter said in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “We know customers are going to look at them.”
Turning Negative Reviews Into A Competitive Advantage
FramesDirect.com uses Trustpilot on a “very deep level,” tapping into the system to track consumer trends and respond to questions and concerns in a timely fashion.
“We read and respond to every review,” Berbetter said. “We also use reviews to give employees positive feedback.”
However, if customers submit negative reviews, the team turns this feedback into learning experiences.
“When we get three stars or fewer on a review, we respond on the same day but then review them every week together so we can determine the cause or reason they were dissatisfied,” Berbetter explained. “Every review gets some form of action.”
Speed of response is especially important because “people don’t want to wait,” Berbetter said. “It’s technically impossible to remove Trustpilot ratings so it’s important that we act on them. A lot of reviews are created because there’s an unanswered question or issue, so we respond and let them know how we can help.”
When the FramesDirect.com team responds to ratings and reviews, consumers tend to change their feedback based on their latest experience.
If consumers do not voluntarily submit ratings and reviews, Trustpilot sends an email to shoppers two weeks after their order ships. That way, customers can share their thoughts on the product and experience while the brand is still top-of-mind.
New reporting features within the Trustpilot platform will empower the FramesDirect.com team to spot review trends more seamlessly.
“That hopefully will allow us to get more insights into whether an issue has been rectified because of an action we take,” Berbetter said. “We meet with Trustpilot a few times a month to further develop the tool and determine whether we’re using the solution to the fullest.”
