The retailer has shared posts with social media followers, urging them to go to product pages of recently purchased items to review. Each review will enter the customer into a sweeps, as Crate and Barrel looks to beef up its online ratings so more consumers will tap its digital offerings for more information.

Reviews and ratings
Retailers and brands have now accepted the importance customer reviews are to the purchasing process. With so much information at the hand’s of mobile users’ fingertips, it is important for retailers to provide as much info as they can to appeal to users.

Consumers that are interested in a particular product will be looking for as much information as possible. Ratings and reviews from real people are extremely important to this process, as in the eyes’ of consumers it is more authentic.

If one retailer’s platform does not have these reviews, customers can find it on another and likely purchase the kind of product there. Retailers should seek to be a platform where consumers can get all the information they want, as well as purchase.

Crate and Barrel is hoping to gain leverage with this area through its contest. Ending Feb. 28, users were able to go online via desktop or mobile to review a recently purchased product.

After doing so, participants are automatically entered into the drawing to win $1000 Crate and Barrel Shop Card.

User generated information
Reviews and ratings are important for retailers and brands to include into their digital products.

For instance, Budget brand Ryanair was one of the many airlines to employ customer-first mobile features within its application, enabling travelers to rate their flights and boarding processes.

Ryanair made the mobile-related announcements during an event kicking off the third year of its Always Getting Better program, which seeks to improve customer service experiences via a slew of digital and on-board initiatives. The airline’s decision to incorporate one-touch payment options into its app last May likely resonated well with plenty of time-strapped travelers, especially those who prefer booking last-minute flights (see more).

Mobile seller-to-seller application letgo is added ratings and reviews for buyers and sellers so users can be more confident in their transactions following the app’s growth past 30 million downloads.

Letgo now features ratings of users provided by other users who have transacted with the individuals before, making it easier for shoppers and sellers to get a better understanding of who they are transacting with. The mobile app is continuing to make lots of headway in the seller-to-seller space, and likely exceeded $13.2 billion worth of transactions by the end of last year (see more).