Product reviews are integral to the Amazon shopping experience, so you definitely want more reviews on your product listings. Amazon reviews can go live within a few hours after the reviewer submits them, but in some cases, it can take as long as 72 hours due to the review approval process.
Can an Amazon review take longer to go live? What factors can help or hinder reviews from being posted? Keep reading to learn more.
The Amazon Customer Review Approval Process
To keep reviews useful and legitimate, Amazon has policies in place to screen and filter reviews before they show up on your product listings, causing a posting delay. Only submissions that follow the review guidelines are posted on your product listings, while the rest don’t show up.
How Long Is The User Review Moderation Process?
Generally, the user review moderation process can take anywhere from a couple of hours to 72 hours. However, some reviews can have a longer processing time, up to 14 days.
Many factors influence the length of the moderation process, from the complexity of the review to the workload of the moderation team. While Amazon uses AI to moderate reviews, it may still use the help of human moderators from time to time.
Which Customers Can Post Ratings and Reviews?
All kinds of customers can post ratings and reviews. However, the bare minimum criterion is that the customer must have spent at least $50 on Amazon in the last 12 months. Customers can even review products they haven’t bought on Amazon, which means they likely bought the product elsewhere. That said, these reviews are considered unverified reviews and hold less weight than verified reviews. Amazon also imposes weekly limits for posting unverified reviews.
Verified reviews are reviews from customers who bought the product on Amazon and paid a price comparable to what most Amazon shoppers paid for that product. Verified reviews carry more weight because the reviewer very likely has actually bought the product and used it, making them more trustworthy.
Reviewers can also be part of the Amazon Vine program, where participants get free Amazon products in exchange for providing reviews.
What Can Make Reviews Take Longer to Go Live?
Reviews can take longer to go live because Amazon takes longer to moderate them. Factors that may result in reviews taking longer to go live include:
- The reviewer isn’t a verified purchaser.
- The review may skirt, but not outright violate community guidelines and review policies.
- The review is suspected of being fake.
Reviews like these may still get posted, but they may take longer to show up on your product listings because they need to go through closer scrutiny.
Why Aren’t My Customer Reviews Posted on Amazon?
Generally, reviews that aren’t posted on Amazon violate its review policies in some way. Here are some factors that may result in customer reviews being rejected:
- Not focusing on the product: Amazon reviews must be specific about the product being discussed. Comments about the seller’s service, delivery, and other similar factors should be included in seller feedback.
- Including private information: Reviews that include things like email addresses, phone numbers, and other identifying information may not be approved due to their privacy risks.
- Using rude or threatening language: Reviews that harass or have the potential to harm people are very likely to be removed.
- Displaying conflicts of interest: If Amazon finds out you asked for reviews from people within your circle (like friends, family, and other close associates), the site may remove those reviews.
Another factor that may result in reviews not being posted to Amazon is a sudden, unusual uptick in review velocity. Sudden surges in reviews often happen artificially, like when you give out coupons for heavy discounts. Amazon may consider the sudden uptick as suspicious and not post customer reviews from that period.
Counteracting Slow Review Approvals: Encouraging More Customer Reviews
Since Amazon user reviews take some time to show up on your product listings and you can’t do a lot about it, there’s another way to better populate your review section: encourage reviews.
If you encourage customers to write reviews, you’ll get more reviews coming down the pipeline. Since there’s a chance that some reviews may get deleted by Amazon for not following guidelines, it’s better to garner as many reviews as possible to ensure a healthy amount of reviews end up on your page.
What can you do to get verified reviews on Amazon? Here are proven, battle-tested strategies you can try:
Provide Excellent Customer Service and Support
Addressing customer issues in a friendly and supportive manner leaves an impression in their minds. If they remember their experience shopping at your store as a pleasant one, they’re more likely to leave a positive review.
Use the Review Requester
Amazon provides a “Request a Review” button to help you send review requests to customers who bought your product. You can press this button a few days after a customer buys your product to remind them that they can leave a review. These emails are automated, but they’re useful for gently nudging customers to leave reviews.
Enclose Messages In Your Packaging
Leaving cards with a message nudging your customers to review the product they received is a good way to get more reviews. The customer is very likely to find the card when they open the packaging, which means they’re more likely to get your message and leave a review.
Use Incentives
Amazon does prohibit bribing for reviews. However, you can offer incentives that are still within its guidelines, like future purchase discounts or loyalty program memberships. Ensure these incentives come from a desire to satisfy customers instead of just soliciting reviews. If customers are happy and loyal, they’re much more likely to leave reviews.
Sell Excellent Products
One of the most effective ways to get reviews is probably the simplest: simply sell great products. Ensure what you sell has minimum defects, clear instructions, and good post-purchase support. People don’t just remember your products, they remember the experiences they had using them. If you leave a good impression, they’ll likely leave good reviews for your store.
Conclusion
Generally, Amazon reviews take about 72 hours or less to show up on your product listing. However, some reviews may take more moderation and can take up to 14 days to appear. As a seller, you can encourage customers to leave more reviews, so you have more in the pipeline, ensuring a steady flow of customer reviews.
While reviews are essential, fake or abusive reviews can tarnish your store’s reputation and drive customers away. If you need help dealing with negative reviews, contact TraceFuse. Our team can see if any of your product ASINs have policy-violating reviews and report what’s spotted to Amazon on your behalf, then we’ll follow up until they’re removed with no effort on your part. Schedule a demo with us today!
