Collecting Real Product Reviews, and the Rules on Fake Ones

Asking for reviews at the right moment

The best time to ask is when the customer has had enough time to form an opinion but still remembers the purchase. For a phone case that is a few days after delivery; for a skincare product or running shoes it may be three to four weeks. Tie the request to the delivery date, not the order date, so nobody is asked to review something that has not arrived.

1. Send one request by email, timed to the product type, with a direct link to the review form for the items bought.
2. Send at most one reminder.
3. Ask one or two concrete questions, such as fit or durability, alongside the stars; it gives more useful text.
4. Let customers add photos; they answer questions your own photos cannot.
5. Only send requests where you have a legal basis; a review request is usually treated as part of the purchase, but do not bundle offers into it.

Showing negative reviews too

A product with only perfect scores looks suspicious. Shoppers read the low ratings to find out what the worst case is, and if the complaint is 'runs small' or 'delivery took a week', many buy anyway. Replying to negative reviews, factually and without arguing, shows the next reader how you treat customers when something goes wrong.

Moderation is allowed, but it must be based on published rules applied equally: you may remove spam, abuse or reviews about something else entirely, not reviews that are merely critical. Negative reviews are also free product research. If three reviewers say a size runs small, fix the size guide on the product page. Our guide to product pages that sell covers how reviews fit into the page.

What you must say about verification

If you show consumer reviews, the law requires you to tell shoppers whether and how you ensure the reviews come from people who actually bought or used the product. You may say that you do not check, but you must not claim verification you do not do. The information should be easy to find, typically a short text next to the reviews with a link to fuller details.

Fake and incentivised reviews: the rules

Some practices are banned in all circumstances, without any need to show they misled anyone. The Swedish Consumer Agency supervises this and can take action.

• Writing reviews yourself, or having staff, friends or an agency write them.
• Buying reviews, or buying likes and shares for reviews.
• Claiming reviews are from real customers without reasonable steps to check it.
• Hiding or deleting negative reviews while showing positive ones, or presenting a selection as the full picture.
• Offering a discount or prize only for positive reviews. Rewarding any review is possible, but must be disclosed and must not depend on the rating.

Using reviews in marketing

Quoting a review in an ad, email or on the home page is allowed if the quote is genuine, not edited to change its meaning, and not presented as typical if it is not. A summary such as an average score must be calculated from all reviews, not a subset. When you quote a named person, have their consent.

When not to buy help: a review app on Shopify or WooCommerce, set up with verified-purchase requests and a clear disclosure text, is enough for most shops. Help pays off when reviews are part of a wider conversion problem on product and checkout pages. That is what our conversion and checkout work covers, and a short call is enough to see if it applies to you.

Frequently asked questions