7 Proven Ways to Drive Sales with Social Proof in Your Online Store

13 min read

When it’s time to shop for new hiking boots or treat yourself to a fancy spa package, where do you turn? Most likely, you’ll check out reviews, ask for recommendations through Instagram stories, or watch unboxing videos on YouTube. These are all examples of social proof, which is what your customers look for when checking out your products.

Social proof helps customers understand how other people have experienced a product—this fosters trust in a brand. Make sure you provide authentic feedback and recommendations so that potential customers feel confident in their decision to choose your product or service.

Keep reading to learn actionable ways to integrate social proof into your business and enhance your marketing game.

What is Social Proof in Ecommerce?

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people rely on others to guide their decisions and actions. Individuals assume that the choices made by the majority or authorities are correct.

Social proof in an online store consists of multiple factors, including ratings, reviews, likes, and endorsements from other customers, celebrities, and experts. It also includes customer interaction statistics like display counters for views, purchases, remaining stock, discount notifications, and recently purchased items.

Simply put, if you want to create trust with your customers and encourage them to buy your products or services, there’s no better way than by backing it up with social proof. Let’s go through some ways to do just that.

Collect and Publish Your Customers’ Reviews

Customer reviews are an effective way to build trust and attract new customers to your store. They offer an authentic look at the experiences of others with your products or services, showcasing your brand’s reliability and quality.

Publishing reviews isn’t just about sharing feedback. It’s an opportunity to engage with customers by responding to their comments and questions. This helps foster stronger relationships with your customers.

Kissed By A Bee replies to customer feedback in the online store

With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you can collect customer feedback automatically through marketing emails. Just enable an automated feedback request email, and your customers will receive an email asking them to leave their feedback after they receive their order. Learn more about automated marketing emails.

Also, check out all the ways you can collect and display reviews in your Ecwid store.

Harness the Power of Social Media

Shoppers often use social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to search for products or gifts. You need to get your product out there. The more customer reviews you have on social media, the more proof you have that your product is worth buying.

Here are some ways to get social media reviews rolling in:

Encourage customers to post their photos or videos with your product on social media using a brand hashtag. For example, a camera store, Paper Shoot, asks their customers to use #takenbypapershoot when sharing pictures taken by their camera on Instagram.
Run a social media contest or giveaway with a brand hashtag. The participation of many people in your contest not only creates hype but is also social proof, strengthening your brand’s credibility.
Offer customers an incentive like a discount or a free product sample for sharing a detailed review on social media.

Having an active social media profile with an engaged audience also acts as social proof. Regularly post content relevant to your target audience, answer questions about your products, and publish customer pictures and reviews.

It won’t hurt to add social media sharing buttons on your product pages. They allow customers to share your product on social media. In Ecwid, such buttons are added to product pages by default.

Share buttons on a product page

Send Your Product to Micro-Influencers for a Review

If you’re not collaborating with micro-influencers for product reviews, you’re missing out on a whole lot of potential. Sure, partnering with famous celebrities may seem like the way to go. But let’s be real here: they can be expensive to work with and may not even have an audience that resonates with your product.

As for micro-influencers, they have a loyal following that trusts their recommendations, likely relate better to specific target audiences, and won’t break the bank—what a great deal!

By teaming with micro-influencers, you’ll be tapping into a niche audience with greater impact and engagement potential. Look for content creators on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube with a decent following, between one and fifty thousand followers. Consumers often use these kinds of social media for product research.

You can also collaborate with review platforms like Influenster that connect brands and influencers. Using Influenster, you can generate more influencer reviews for your brand in exchange for sending them free product samples.

A product review of e.l.f. Cosmetics through Influenster

For step-by-step instructions on how to collaborate with influencers to grow brand loyalty, listen to our podcast with Taylor Lagace, co-CEO of Kynship, an influencer marketing agency. You’ll learn why the “pay for post” method of influencer partnership does not work. Plus, you’ll get the how-to for a better approach.

The Ecwid E-Commerce Show · Influencer Marketing Without the Guesswork

Display How Many Shoppers are Viewing Your Product to Show its Popularity

A product view counter is a handy social proof tool that keeps track of how many people are checking out your products in real-time. Not only that, but it shows how many views a particular product has got over a specific period—whether it’s a day, a week, a month, or even all-time.

The “Product View” counter helps bring attention to products. It encourages customers to dive in and explore all the great offerings your online store has to offer while feeling a sense of urgency.

The Rooster Crow Marketplace shows how many store visitors are viewing the item at the moment

Enhance the Demand with Purchase Counter

Looking for a way to push potential buyers towards making a purchase? Try a purchase counter. The tool showcases the real-time count of sales for a specific product. It taps into the powerful psychological effect of social proof: the more a product has been purchased, the more attractive it becomes to others.

If you run a sale, this tool is just what you need. Don’t underestimate the impact of this seemingly simple number—it might be the thing that seals the deal for your next order.

Keep in mind these best practices when using the purchase counter:

Consider displaying customer reviews or product ratings alongside the purchase counter. This can further encourage potential buyers.
Set up pre-orders for items that sell out. Not only this shows that your product is in demand, but it will also provide a pathway for people to buy more of it.

This store shows how many people bought this product in the last 24 hours

Create a Sense of Scarcity by Showing How Many Items are Left in Stock

A stock counter will capture a customer’s interest and drive them towards making a purchase, which is the whole point! This tool serves as a form of social proof that motivates browsers to become buyers. By displaying the number of items left in stock (e.g., “Only 5 left in stock”), it creates a sense of urgency that nudges visitors towards a purchase.

A stock counter is a must for a sale—especially if you run a flash sale (for a day or two). It’s hard to resist buying a product when you see it’s almost sold out.

For best results, try the following tips:

Display the stock counter when the product quantity is low, typically less than 10-20 units.
When running a sale, combine the stock counter with discounts to maximize customer motivation to make a purchase.

This store uses a stock counter and discounts during a sale

Show Which Products are Purchased in Real Time

You can harness social proof by showing the products shoppers are buying right now. This method involves displaying messages about the latest purchases made by other customers. It provides a subtle but powerful message that your online store is trustworthy, high-quality, and popular.

Tap into the psychology of social proof and build your brand’s reputation, inspiring purchase after purchase. Recently bought product messages are really effective when you want your newer products to get more attention.

For best results, follow this advice when showing these kinds of messages in your store:

Test the message on different pages of your online store: storefront, category pages, product pages, search page, and checkout.
Ensure your products have attractive product images and clear product names.

This store displays the recently bought product message in the bottom left corner

Social Proof Your Store

If you run an Ecwid store, you can test various social proof notifications with the Social Proof app. It allows you to set up purchase, product view, stock counters, discount messages for products, and “Recently bought” pop-ups. Once you set them up, you can see which social proof notifications work the best through the analytics section in the app.

When displaying social proof in your store in the form of various popups (like stock, product view, or purchase counter), keep in mind these recommendations:

Though popups should stand out on a product page, don’t make them obtrusive. They should be consistent with your store design, noticeable but not in-your-face.
Avoid overwhelming users with too frequent pop-ups and social proof messages. Stick to the “one page, one popup” rule to avoid spamming your shoppers.
Keep notifications updated to provide customers with relevant information. You don’t want to show the “Only 2 products left in stock” message for months.

And don’t forget—social proof isn’t just about showcasing positive feedback. Negative reviews or feedback can also offer valuable insights. They provide an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction. By addressing any concerns or issues head-on, you can show potential customers that you care about customers’ experiences. Show that you are willing to go above and beyond to make things right.

Wrap Up

Social proof is a powerful way to build trust and credibility with your customers. However, it’s not a one-and-done trick. To truly harness its full potential, you need to integrate social proof into your overall marketing strategy. This means making it a priority to collect customer feedback and user-generated content on a regular basis.

By doing this, you not only have the chance to showcase your products in the best possible light, but you also give your existing customers a chance to share their experiences with others. This retains those valuable customers while attracting new ones. Everyone is looking for a reliable, trustworthy brand—make it obvious that you are one.

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Marketing and Promotion

Jun 16, 2023

About the author

Vasilii Klimov, CEO of Codpeller, will tell you how to increase sales in your shop by properly configuring marketing apps. He is always open to cooperation and partnership.