Reviews on Yandex Market: cashback in Plus points

Reviews on Yandex Market work the same way as everywhere else: without them a card does not convert, and without conversion rankings do not grow. What sets the platform apart is the way you collect them: the "Reviews for Points" program with cashback in Yandex Plus points (Yandex's loyalty subscription). Here is how it works, what it costs and how to build it into your promotion.

• Conversion. A shopper on Market compares offers from the catalog, so a product with no reviews loses to its shelf neighbors before the click even happens. How reviews affect sales is covered in this breakdown of the mechanics.
• Ranking. Ratings and review activity are part of the conversion factors behind search results.
• Filters. Shoppers filter for products "rated 4 and up", and a card with a couple of random ratings drops out of the selection easily.

A legitimate Market mechanic: the seller enables the program and sets a reward, and a customer who leaves a review for a product they bought gets cashback in Plus points. The seller pays for the points awarded.

The fundamental differences from "gray" schemes:

• the review is written by a real customer after a real purchase, so this is not review manipulation with its penalties;
• the customer is under no obligation to praise you: points are awarded for the review, not for five stars;
• the program is managed from the seller account: you switch it on for selected SKUs and off once you have enough reviews.

Neighboring marketplaces run similar programs, such as reviews for points on WB and on Ozon: the logic is the same everywhere, only the reward currency and the settings differ.

1. 1New products with zero reviews are the main candidate: the first 5–10 reviews deliver the biggest conversion lift. The general tactics for first reviews are covered in a separate guide.
2. 2The reward depends on the product price and the category: too small does not motivate, too large breaks the economics. Count it as a marketing cost per SKU in your unit economics.
3. 3Switch it off in time. Once a steady organic flow of reviews kicks in, the program is no longer needed on that SKU.

• Reply to everything, positive and negative alike: the next customer reads your replies. Templates and tone are in the guide to replying to reviews.
• Address negatives on the merits. A complaint about a defect or delivery is a signal for operations, not only for PR: systematic complaints hit your quality index. The step-by-step approach is in working with negative reviews.
• Do not try to delete what is inconvenient. Marketplaces remove only reviews that break the rules.

If you need a managed flow of reviews across every marketplace at once, that is our review service.

"How do I get reviews on Yandex Market?" Enable the "Reviews for Points" program: the customer gets cashback in Plus points for a review of a product they bought. Plus the standard hygiene, meaning a quality product, an honest card and fast delivery.

"How much do reviews for points cost?" The seller pays for the points awarded to customers. You set the reward size yourself for each product, so treat it as a marketing cost in the SKU unit economics.

"Is this review manipulation? Will I be penalized?" No: the review is left by a real customer after a real purchase, and the mechanic is official and managed from the seller account. Review manipulation means fake purchases and paid-for reviews, and that is what gets punished.

"Can I pay points only for positive reviews?" No, the reward is granted for the review, not for the rating. The program speeds up feedback collection; what that feedback looks like depends on the product.

"What should I do about negative reviews on Market?" Reply on the merits and fix the cause: defects, packaging, deadlines. You cannot delete a negative review unless it breaks the marketplace rules, but every next customer reads a detailed seller reply.