Buzzillions Blogs

I’m pretty confused with regard to shopping for a dishwasher as 5-stars don’t/doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in the top 100.

Another great questions from a Buzzillions fan.  You’re browsing Buzzillions, you see a product with a 5 star rating, but it’s not in the top 10 or even the top 100.   What gives?  Believe it or not, friends, there is a method to our madness and it’s called… The Buzzillions Top Rated Algorithm.

You’ll notice that when you get to a category page, dishwashers for example, the default sorting of the products is “Top Ranked”.   Instead of merely sorting products by 5 star, then 4 star and so on, we’ve designed a more intelligent system.  This system pushes products to the top that:

• Have a high average star rating
• Have a large number of reviews
• Have recent reviews
• Are in-stock on a merchant site

Our aim is to be confident and accurate in our recommendations.  If a product has one 5 star review and another has 200 4.7 star reviews, we’re more sure that the second product is a great product.  The 5 star product with one review might be a great product, but we just don’t have enough customer opinions to determine that.  We make sure products stay fresh & relevant for users by giving products with recent reviews that are in-stock an edge.  Without those controls, you might see a 2007 laptop ranked #1 – not exactly helpful.

The nice thing about Buzzillions is that our results are 100% based on consumer feedback and product attributes.  We never allow merchants, manufacturers, or any third party for that matter, to pay for better placement or otherwise influence product rankings.

The Buzzillions Reviewers Choice Awards tell you which products were ranked 1-5 in hundreds of categories in 2008.

Thanks for the great question! Coming up next: learn more about finding low-ranked products & negative reviews.  Have your own question? Comment here or email feedback@powerreviews.com.

In an actual store, you have to decide how to arrange your merchandise. Should items be arranged by type? Or use? Do running shoes go in the shoe section? Or should all the running equipment be kept together? How do most people shop? What helps them find things easier?

These are all questions a store has to think about in order to keep shoppers as happy as possible. However, everyone is a little different and no matter where items are placed, not everyone will be able to find it with the same ease.

The advantage of being an online store is that we can place products wherever we want. We’re not limited to just one aisle in a store; we can put products in as many areas as we think will be useful. So we can put running shoes with shoes and also with other running equipment. We can put hiking clothing with clothing and also with other hiking equipment. You shouldn’t even need to think about where to find something. Wherever it could be, it should be.

No more “it’s in aisle 3 next to the canned tomatoes”.