Customer JourneyApril 3, 20258 min read

Reviews Help at Every Stage of the Customer Journey

The customer journey describes the entire process from the first thought of purchase to the moment the customer shares their experience with others. Reviews are one of the strongest influences in each of the five phases.

Five Phases of the Customer Journey

Awareness, Consideration, Conversion, Retention, and Advocacy. The classic three-step model is no longer sufficient today – the digital era has added retention and advocacy.

In each phase, a different type of content and a different type of review is decisive. A universal tactic doesn't work.

Why Reviews Work Across Phases

Reviews and UGC make up to 50% of what Google uses to decide who to display highest. Word-of-mouth has moved from personal recommendations to product pages and social media.

84% of customers perceive an online review the same way they would advice from a friend. And 92% trust content from friends and family more than marketing campaigns.

Infografika · dopad recenzí

The Impact of Reviews in Each Phase

87 %

Actively searches for reviews before every purchase

BrightLocal

93 %

Reviews are a decisive factor

Podium

84 %

Trust in reviews as personal recommendations

Wise Marketer

14×

Chance of repeat sale vs. new customer

Pearson Marketing Metrics

Reviews don't just work at the moment of a purchase decision – they influence whether a customer even finds you, chooses you, and returns to you.

Consistent work with reviews across all phases has a cumulative effect.

Conversion Impact of Reviews in the Purchase Phase

Even a single review can boost conversions by 76.7%. Five positive reviews triple the chance of purchase.

Blenders Eyewear case study: after adding stars to Facebook ads, click-through rates doubled, CPA dropped by 38%, ROAS increased by 68%.

Five Phases and What Reviews Do in Them

The specific mechanism by which reviews work in each phase of the customer journey.

Awareness and Consideration

High ratings will get you higher in search engines – reviews make up to 50% of Google's ranking signals.

In the consideration phase, reviews act as 12× stronger social proof than traditional advertising. Even critical comments help – they show realistic expectations.

Conversion

87% of customers actively search for reviews before every purchase

Reading 5 positive reviews triples the chance of purchase.

Even a single review can boost conversions by 76.7%

The mere presence of star ratings on PDPs increases conversions by almost 9%.

Retention and Advocacy

Loyal customers spend 31% more than new ones

The chance of a repeat sale is 14× greater than the chance of acquiring a new customer.

92% of customers with a strong experience will write a review

67% do it to help others, 65% to help the brand improve the product.

Conclusion

Reviews are not an afterthought. They influence the entire customer journey – from the first contact with a brand to recommending it to others.

Starting to collect quality ratings may not be easy, especially for new products. Send us your products, and our testers will try them and write authentic reviews.