Walmart Review Benchmark Report 2023: 10 major categories

It is learned that recently, the review analysis website PowerReviews released the "Walmart Shopping Website Review Benchmark" report, analyzing the average review star rating, average review volume, average review length and other data of the 10 major categories of products and brands on the platform, and compared them with the overall level of the platform, and the review indicators of other brands and shopping websites.

The analytical data in the report is based on an analysis of approximately 6.04 million reviews of 3,292 brands on Walmart's shopping website for the 12 months from September 1, 2022 to August 30, 2023, revealing American consumers' expectations for review metrics in different categories when shopping on Walmart.

Overall

The report, which analyzed more than 3,200 brands covering ten major categories, showed that the average review star rating for all Walmart products was 4.21 stars, with products with a star rating of 4.75 to 4.99 having the highest conversion rate; the average review length was 162 characters, lower than the 218 characters of other brands and shopping sites; and the average number of reviews was 110, exceeding consumers' expectations of 100.

Electronics

The report shows that the average review star rating of electronic products on Walmart is 3.86 stars, which is lower than the overall level of the platform and is the only category among the 10 major categories with an average star rating below 4 stars. PowerReviews' analysis of more than 3,600 other brands and retail websites also shows that the average star rating of consumer electronics is lower than the overall level.

However, on the Walmart platform, the average length of reviews for electronic products is higher than the overall level, and the average number of reviews on brands and products is also higher than the overall level.

The survey shows that when buying electronic products, consumers pay the most attention to the length and number of reviews, as well as the time of the reviews. Among them, the conversion rate of listings with more than 251 reviews is 70.9% higher than that of products with 0 reviews, and the conversion rate of products with 5,000 or more reviews is 173.4% higher.

Beauty and Personal Care

The average review star rating for beauty and personal care products is higher than the overall level of Walmart, and the average review length is 166.25 characters, which is also higher than the overall level of Walmart. The survey shows that 73% of consumers pay more attention to the length of reviews when purchasing beauty and personal care products.

However, the average number of reviews in the beauty and personal care category is lower than the overall average of Walmart. But for consumers, the number of reviews is very important for purchasing beauty and personal care products. Compared with products with fewer reviews, beauty and personal care products with 101-250 reviews have a 24.8% higher conversion rate, products with 500 or more reviews have a 92% higher conversion rate, and products with more than 1,000 reviews have a 187.6% higher conversion rate.

Walmart has significantly expanded its beauty category in recent years, and in Walmart's most recent Brand Health Index report, beauty brands had a higher average review star rating on Walmart than on Amazon or Target.

Grocery & Consumer Goods

For the grocery and consumer goods categories, the average review star rating is slightly higher than the platform overall level, and the average number of reviews for products and brands is also higher, but the average review length is shorter, at around 150 characters.

Walmart's consumer goods brands have lower review metrics than other brands and retailer websites. The average star rating is 4.6 stars, the average number of product reviews is 45% more than other brands, and the average review character is 33% longer than other brands.

Alcohol

As e-commerce sales of alcohol grow, consumers are paying more and more attention to reviews of this category. The report shows that the average review star rating of alcohol products on Walmart is 4.64, the highest among all categories, but the average number of reviews for products and brands in this category is lower than the overall level.

It is worth mentioning that there are many well-known alcoholic beverage brands on Walmart, such as Corona, Smirnoff, Heineken, etc. These brands have a high number of reviews, while the average number of reviews for products of the vast majority of other brands is far less than 100.

Home Gardening

The average review star rating for the Home & Garden category is slightly higher than the overall Walmart level, but the average number of reviews for both products and brands is lower, at about 93. However, compared to products without reviews, these products have a 213.3% higher conversion rate, which shows the importance of the number of reviews for this category. In addition, the average review length for this category is longer, at about 174 characters.

Kitchen Tools

On Walmart, the average review rating for the kitchen gadgets category is higher than the overall platform level. However, the average number of reviews for products in this category is less than one-third of the average, and the review characters are also relatively short. The research shows that the average number of reviews for brands in this category is also the lowest among all categories.

Household appliances and power tools

Compared to the average for all products on Walmart, the average number of reviews for Appliances & Power Tools products is more than 2 times higher, and the average number of reviews for brands is 75% higher. In addition, the average length of reviews in this category is also 25% higher, making it the only category with more than 200 characters.

However, the average review star rating for this category is slightly lower than Walmart’s overall level.

Office and Garden Furniture

At Walmart, the average number of reviews for Office & Garden Furniture products was 32, the lowest among the 10 categories studied, which may be due to the low frequency of consumers purchasing this category. However, this does not mean that consumers do not attach importance to review metrics in this category. 86% of consumers said that the review time and number of reviews are very important when purchasing furniture.

clothing

The average length of reviews in the clothing category is the lowest, at only 124 characters. In addition, the other three indicators, including the average star rating, the average number of product reviews, and the average number of brand reviews, are also significantly lower than Walmart's overall level.

But for clothing consumers, review indicators are particularly important, second only to price. The survey shows that 71% of consumers pay attention to the length of reviews, and 63% pay attention to the number of reviews.

Footwear

Compared to the overall review metrics for all Walmart products, the review metrics for footwear products are lower, but slightly better than the apparel category. Compared to more than 3,600 other brand and retailer websites, the average review star rating for Walmart footwear products is 8% lower, the average number of reviews is 60% less, and the average review characters are 25% less.

However, consumers place just as much importance on reviews for footwear as they do for apparel, with 71% saying they specifically look for longer reviews when shopping for footwear, and 70% reading reviews for sizing information.

Toy

Compared with Walmart's overall level, the average review rating of the toy category is slightly higher and the review length is longer, but the average number of reviews is less than half of the overall level. Compared with the toy category on other brands and retail websites, the review indicators of the toy category on Walmart are also low. Data shows that the average review star rating of the toy category on other brands and retail websites is 4.7 stars, the average number of product reviews is 59, and the average review length is 57% higher.

The study pointed out that in the toy category, the number of reviews has a greater impact. Products with 101 to 250 reviews have a 153% higher conversion rate than products with no reviews.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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