If you asked a room full of marketers where reviews sit in their budget, most would say “important” and then quietly admit they’re funded like an afterthought.
That disconnect is costing brands real money.
Reviews are one of the few channels that sit at the intersection of trust, conversion, and discoverability, yet they’re rarely treated like a performance lever. They’re treated like hygiene. Something you “have” or “need more of,” but not something you actively build, optimize, or scale.
That’s a mistake.
On marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and The Home Depot, reviews are not decorative. They are functional.
They affect:
In many categories, a product without enough recent, credible reviews doesn’t just underperform. It effectively disappears.
Paid social is great at generating awareness. Influencers are powerful for education and credibility. But reviews catch shoppers at the exact moment of decision.
They answer the questions ads can’t:
And unlike ads, reviews don’t turn off when the budget does.
A single well-written review can influence hundreds or thousands of future purchases. That’s compounding value, something most performance channels can’t claim.
Here’s what we see over and over:
Reviews are expected to “just happen.”
They don’t.
Without a plan, brands end up with:
The brands winning right now treat reviews like a channel:
When reviews are intentional, everything else works harder. Ads convert better. Influencer content lands with more credibility. Retail conversations get easier.
Reviews don’t feel flashy, which is exactly why they work.
They’re trusted. They’re durable. They’re one of the few assets that benefit every other channel without demanding constant reinvestment.
Underfunding them isn’t conservative. It’s expensive.
