From Ratings to Revenue

Overview

In a busy marketplace like Shopee, sellers are always looking for ways to sell more products and improve their store performance. One important question many sellers ask is whether getting more customer ratings can help boost sales. This case study looks at real data to find out how strong the connection is between customer ratings and sales, and whether working to get more ratings is worth the effort.

We studied six important questions to understand how ratings and sales are related, whether more ratings can increase the chances of getting high sales, and if there are certain points where sales grow much faster. By looking at real sales and ratings data, this case study gives simple, practical advice that sellers can use right away to grow their business faster.

Key Question 1

How strong is the relationship between total ratings and total sales?

The relationship between customer ratings and sales is very strong. Every time a product gets one more customer rating, it usually sells one more unit. The data shows a perfect match between the number of ratings and the number of units sold. In simple terms, the more ratings your product has, the more it will sell. The sales trend is steady and clear, which means sellers can confidently use customer ratings to predict how well their product will do.

Key Question 2

Does having more ratings make it more likely to sell a lot more units?

Yes, having more customer ratings greatly increases the chances of selling more units. The data shows that as products collect more ratings, their chances of becoming high-selling products rise sharply. This relationship is not by luck — it is statistically very strong. Simply put, products with more ratings are much more likely to become best-sellers compared to products with few ratings.

Key Question 3

Do sales grow steadily with ratings, or do they suddenly take off at some point?

Sales grow steadily as ratings go up. There are no sudden jumps or surprises. As products get more ratings, they keep selling more at a consistent pace. The data shows that the growth is smooth and predictable. This means that every extra rating you collect steadily adds to your sales without needing to wait for a big turning point.

Key Question 4

Is there a point where sales start growing much faster?

Yes, there is a clear point. Once a product passes about 1000 customer ratings, sales start to grow much faster. Before reaching 1000 ratings, sales increase slowly. But after 1000 ratings, the average number of units sold rises sharply, and after 5000 ratings, sales surge even more dramatically. For example, products with 1001–5000 ratings sell around 2,400 units on average, and those with more than 10,000 ratings sell about 23,000 units on average.

Key Question 5

How many ratings are needed to almost guarantee high sales?

The probability of achieving high sales rises very quickly once a product gathers around 30–50 ratings. The data shows that with as few as 30–50 customer ratings, a product’s chance of becoming a high-seller jumps to almost 100%. After that point, getting more ratings continues to help, but the major boost happens early. This means even a modest number of customer ratings can almost guarantee strong sales performance.

Key Question 6

Can sellers use this relationship to decide which products to promote harder?

Absolutely. Sellers should focus on boosting products that are close to reaching 20–30 ratings. The data shows that products with about 20 ratings have a 50% chance of becoming high-sellers, and with 30 ratings, the chance rises to over 70%. After reaching 30–50 ratings, most products maintain a very high chance of achieving strong sales. Focusing marketing and promotions on these products can bring the biggest results.

Conclusion

Boosting the number of customer ratings clearly leads to more units sold. The relationship between ratings and sales is simple: every new rating adds real value. Not only does each rating steadily increase sales, but products that reach certain milestones — like 30, 1000, or 5000 ratings — see even greater rewards. Sellers who focus on gathering customer ratings early and steadily will be able to grow their sales faster and build stronger, longer-lasting success.

Recommendations

• Focus on Collecting Early Ratings: Work to get 30–50 customer ratings as soon as possible for each product. Use small discounts, loyalty rewards, or polite follow-ups after purchase to encourage customers to leave reviews.
• Promote Products with 10–30 Ratings: Products that are close to reaching 20–30 ratings are at a critical turning point. Give them extra attention through advertising, featured listings, or bundle offers to help them cross this important line.
• Support Products Approaching 1000 Ratings: Products nearing 1000 ratings should receive extra marketing support. Once they cross 1000 ratings, sales growth will become much faster and stronger.
• Maintain Quality to Keep Momentum: Even after reaching rating milestones, continue to focus on product quality, service, and accurate listings to keep customer satisfaction high and ratings growing steadily.
• Include Rating Goals in New Product Launches: For every new product, plan from the beginning to achieve at least 30–50 ratings quickly. Early momentum in ratings leads to early momentum in sales.