How a Simple Review Tweak Increased Conversion Rate by 12%

When a product page has zero or very few reviews, it can quietly sabotage your conversion rate.

I recently worked with a Shopify client who had a common issue: great products, but very few product-specific reviews.

While waiting to collect more reviews was an option, we needed a solution that could move the needle right now.

The Problem: Low Review Volume, Flat Conversions

Most product pages on the site had either no reviews or just one or two.

That lack of visible trust created hesitation in buyers, especially those who were discovering the brand for the first time.

We were seeing a stagnant conversion rate and low per-session value (PSV), and it was clear that something needed to change - fast.

The Hypothesis: What If We Showed Sitewide Trust Instead?

Rather than wait months for each product to accumulate reviews, I tested a simple change: replacing individual product review modules with a single line of copy that showcased the sitewide review score.

Instead of empty review sections or scattered single reviews, I added a message like:

★★★★★ 1,200+ happy customers

This message was placed clearly on every product page, just below the main product details.

The A/B Test Setup

I ran a split test with two variations:

• Version A (Control): Default individual product reviews (which were mostly empty)

• Version B (Test): Sitewide reviews displayed across all PDPs

Everything else stayed the same. The test ran for a sufficient period with enough traffic to reach statistical significance.

Illustration

To give you an illustration of this, I've mocked up a version of before/after using my Dev theme which you can see here...

Before:

After:

The Results: Trust Scales Fast

• +12% increase in conversion rate

• +16% increase in per session value

• +£21,000 in monthly revenue

This one small change made a big impact - particularly because it tackled an invisible friction point: doubt.

When visitors saw that other people trusted the brand - even if the specific product had no reviews - they were far more likely to convert.

Why It Works

When your store has low product-level review counts, individual review widgets can work against you.

They feel empty, create doubt, and sometimes even damage trust by implying no one is buying.

In contrast, a sitewide review badge builds instant credibility, gives your product pages social proof at scale, and keeps the layout clean and consistent.

It also avoids the "ghost town" effect of blank review sections.

Should You Test It?

If your product pages lack reviews, this is a low-effort, high-impact optimisation worth trying. Just be sure to test it for your audience - even simple changes deserve validation.

How to Add the Badge to Your Shopify Product Pages

You don’t need to edit any code files — you can do this directly in your Shopify theme editor using a Custom Liquid block:

📌 What to do:

1. Go to Online Store → Themes
2. Click “Customize” on your live theme
3. Navigate to a Product page
4. In the left sidebar, click “Add Block”
5. Choose “Custom Liquid”
6. Paste the code below:

<p style="font-size: 14px; margin-bottom:-18px;">
  <span style="font-size: 18px; color:#151515; letter-spacing: 3px;">★★★★★</span> 1,200+ happy customers
</p>

✏️ Customisation Tips:

You can tweak the styles to match your brand:

• Font size: Change font-size: 14px (wording) and font-size: 18px (size of the stars)
• Bottom Spacing: Change margin-bottom: -18px to increase/decrease the spacing above next element (i.e. Product Title)
• Star colour: Change color: #151515 to your brand colour (e.g. #FF9900 for gold)
• Text content: Replace “1,200+ happy customers” with your own proof point
• Letter spacing: Adjust letter-spacing: 3px if you want a tighter or looser star layout

This method keeps your product page layout clean while instantly adding powerful social proof - without needing to wait for individual reviews on every product.

Let me know if you see an uplift in your performance and good luck!