With the holiday season in full swing, it’s important for eCommerce brands to understand that each and every part of the customer journey matters. This is especially true during this time of economic uncertainty when customers are looking for seamless shopping experiences — without the added stress of wondering whether or not gifts will ship on time.

After LateShipment.com predicted between 16% and 20% of packages being delayed for the 2021 holiday shopping season, it’s not surprising that shipping delays are a real concern for consumers. In fact, 58% of shoppers stated that they wouldn’t buy from a brand again if they experienced multiple delays because of supply chain issues. And with retention at the forefront for many, brands can’t afford to lose their loyal customers or to see a dip in their star ratings.

Minimize your brand’s risk of receiving bad reviews and lower ratings by understanding why and how you can protect them.

3 reasons to protect your star ratings this holiday season

The holidays are a busy time for eCommerce brands. And if you’re not providing the kind of shopping experience that customers are looking for, it may be reflected in your star ratings. Here are three reasons why you should aim to protect your star ratings:

1. Customers are stressed enough

Between trying to find the perfect gift and making sure that everyone is accounted for on shopping lists, the holidays are stressful enough for your customers. But making sure that their packages are getting to them on time can help to strengthen your relationship with your customers while also building trust and loyalty.

2. Supply chains are unpredictable

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains have been unpredictable. Because of this, estimating when customers will receive any products from your brand is even more difficult in today’s environment. But transparency is key in these situations in order to set expectations with your customers.

3. You’ve invested in Google Shopping Ads

Because you’ve already poured so many resources into optimizing your Google Shopping Ads, it would be a shame to see your reviews and ratings drop because of delivery issues. Your ads and product listings are there to help shoppers make more informed purchase decisions. Therefore, it’s vital that you ensure all reviews and ratings are positive, and that you optimize review conversions for the ads that you’ve already invested time and money on.

Now, let’s take a look at what you can do to protect your star ratings from dropping.

Protect your reviews and star ratings with delivery-based review requests

Yotpo’s new review request flow allows brands to send review requests based on the actual delivery date.

Review requests sent before a customer has actually received their package can be annoying for shoppers and may even lead them to leave a negative review. But by triggering review requests to be sent a certain number of days after a package has been delivered — instead of after purchase or fulfillment — you can confidently send a review request knowing that you’ll be capturing the excitement that comes with receiving a package from a favorite brand. Allowing your shoppers the time to receive and actually use your products before requesting a review can also lead to more detailed, relevant, and even positive reviews.

Plus, for those using Yotpo SMSBump, you can take advantage of the channel’s higher engagement rate and maximize review conversion by sending SMS review requests in addition to email. With a 66% higher conversion rate with SMS review requests compared to email, adding SMS alongside your email review requests can help to increase your overall conversion rate. In fact, fragrance brand Dossier saw 2x higher conversion rates on SMS review requests when they leveraged both solutions.

Yotpo’s delivery-based triggers are now available for all Shopify customers. For more details on how to ensure your review requests can be sent based on delivery status, check out this support article.