How many 5-star reviews does my Shopify store need?
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Both figures are on your reviews app dashboard.
Between 1 and 5, such as 4.3.
How many reviews that rating is based on.
The average you want to reach, below 5.
Optional. Leave blank for a straight run of 5-star reviews.
A realistic mix, such as 4.8.
Enter the star rating your store shows now, how many reviews it is based on, and the rating you want to reach. The answer is the run of new 5-star reviews it takes.
- Current ratingNeeded
- Number of reviewsNeeded
- Target ratingNeeded
- Average of new reviewsOptional
The count is for the unrounded average; a widget that shows one decimal place may display the target a little sooner. Ask every customer for a review, not only the happy ones.
Nothing you type is sent anywhere. There is no account, no install and no store connection.
Your rating, the reviews behind it and the target
A review target is the number of new 5-star reviews your Shopify store needs, one after another, to lift its average star rating to the figure you want, so an imaginary candle shop rated 4.2 across 38 reviews needs 23 five-star reviews in a row to reach 4.5.
The count uses your own rating and review total; nothing is fetched from your store. To see how many of the customers behind those reviews come back, use the customer retention calculator.
Two figures from your reviews app and the rating you are aiming for. Add what you expect new reviews to average if a straight run of five stars feels optimistic.
- Current rating
- The average star rating your store or product shows today, between 1 and 5. Use the unrounded figure from your reviews app if it gives one; a displayed 4.3 could be anything from 4.25 upward.
- Number of reviews
- How many reviews that average is built on. The larger it is, the more new reviews any change takes, which is also why a big review base is harder to knock down.
- Target rating
- The average you want to reach. A target of exactly 5 cannot be reached once any lower review exists, so the page asks for something just below it.
- Average of new reviews
- Optional. Leave it blank for a run of 5-star reviews, or enter what you realistically expect, such as 4.8, to see how much a few 4-star reviews slow the climb.
- Reviews needed
- The count of new reviews at that average it takes to reach the target, rounded up. The steps on the way show the count for each tenth of a star in between.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
How far five imaginary stores are from their target
Invented stores with invented ratings. The table is generated by the code behind the calculator above, and the counts are rounded up because a review is a whole thing.
| Scenario | Rating now | Reviews | Target | New reviews at | Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candle shop, small review base | 4.2 | 38 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 23 |
| Activewear brand, large base | 4.3 | 1,250 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 500 |
| Coffee subscription, mixed new reviews | 4.1 | 210 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 158 |
| Toy store aiming for 4.8 | 4.6 | 96 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 96 |
| Phone case shop, already above | 4.7 | 540 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 0 |
Why the real count can differ
Displayed ratings round
Most review widgets show one decimal place, so a store can display the target a little before its true average reaches it. The count here is for the unrounded average.
Real reviews do not arrive in a clean run
A 3-star review in the middle of a run pushes the finish line back. Use the average-of-new-reviews field to plan with a more realistic mix.
Product ratings and store ratings differ
A product page shows that product alone, while a store badge may combine every product. Run the numbers for the rating shoppers actually see.
Reviews follow orders
Only a share of customers ever leave a review, so the orders it takes to collect the count you need are many times that count. Plan the timeline around your order volume.
Review rules apply
Offering a reward only for positive reviews, or hiding negative ones, breaks the rules of most review platforms and consumer laws in many countries. Ask every customer, not just happy ones.
Review rating questions
How many 5-star reviews do I need to raise my rating?
Enter your current rating, how many reviews it is based on, and the rating you want. The calculator returns the run of 5-star reviews it takes. The candle shop above, rated 4.2 across 38 reviews, needs 23 in a row to reach 4.5.
Why does a big review count make it harder to move?
Because every new review is one voice among many. At 1,250 reviews, the imaginary activewear brand above needs 500 five-star reviews to go from 4.3 to 4.5, while a store with a few dozen reviews can move the same distance with a couple of dozen.
Can my rating ever reach exactly 5 stars?
Not once a single review below 5 exists. Each 5-star review pulls the average closer, but it never quite arrives. Aim for 4.9, which most widgets display as a near-perfect score.
What if not every new review is 5 stars?
Enter the average you expect in the optional field. The imaginary coffee subscription above, expecting new reviews to average 4.8, needs 158 of them to go from 4.1 to 4.4 across 210 reviews.
How many bad reviews can my rating absorb?
If you are already at or above your target, the answer shows how many one-star reviews in a row it would take to drop below it. The more reviews behind your rating, the larger that cushion.
Does this work for any Shopify reviews app?
Yes. It needs only the average and the count, which every reviews app shows. Nothing connects to your store.
A rating is earned after the order. The order comes first.
Nudgesmart has 13 campaign types, from an email capture popup to a spin wheel, for turning more of the visitors already on your store into customers.
