Older reviews age out
The algorithm only considers reviews collected during the trailing 24 months. Anything older than that stops counting.
How your star rating works at ConsumerAffairs
Your star rating on ConsumerAffairs isn’t a lifetime average. It’s a time- and verification-based rating based on the reviews collected during the last 24 months. Learn how it works, run your own numbers, then see how a rating change can impact conversion.
Three things to know about ConsumerAffairs’ star rating methodology
ConsumerAffairs publishes how it calculates a star rating. It is a time-based and verification-based average of the reviews collected in the most recent 24 months. Therefore, the following concepts influence your star rating.
The algorithm weights new reviews more
More recent reviews have a bigger impact on the star rating than reviews from a year ago.
Reviews from verified sources weight heavier
Reviews collected from verified purchasers, from any source, count for more than reviews without proof of purchase.
Now see how new reviews could impact your star rating
The calculator below lets you run a simulation of how new reviews might impact your star rating. Set your current star rating and number of reviews, then estimate how contacting verified buyers by phone and email will move the rating. The simulator assumes each new phone and email review is a 4.5 star rating.
Your scenario
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Current state
Phone outreach
Email outreach
Organic reviews
Rating trajectory
With Aspect collection
Organic only (do nothing)
Target
Projected with ConsumerAffairs’ published time- and verification-based 24-month method. Your existing reviews are spread across the trailing 24 months, and each new month’s reviews come in while the oldest ones age out. Directional, not a guarantee.
Case study: see what happens when one brand started asking for reviews
Patio Enclosures sat at about 1.0★ for all of 2025. They worked with the Aspect team to call and email their customers starting in January 2026. By that March their star rating was 3.8★; by June it was 4.1★.
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Ask every customer for a review. You want to collect stories from every one of your customers to get a complete picture of your business.
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New, verified reviews can quickly change a star rating. Because recent and verified reviews have the largest weight in the algorithm, they can quickly influence the star rating calculation.
Getting us from a 1.0 rating to where we are now is a testament to their process and methodology. To say I’m thrilled with the results is an understatement.
With Aspect collection
Organic reviews only
Displayed-rating reconstruction from the brand’s monthly review data (Jan 2025–May 2026), computed with ConsumerAffairs’ published 24-month method and checked against the live on-site rating. Read the case study →
Five steps to a higher star rating
The key to changing your star rating is to ask every customer for a review. Here are five ways to do that.
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Have Aspect call verified customers
Phone reviews to existing customers are verified and recent. Calling can also reach customers who’d never fill out a form without being asked.
- 2
Add email collection
Follow up phone calls with emails to verified customers. Currently, every Aspect plan comes with an unlimited number of email invites for a review.
- 3
Automate review requests
Older reviews have their weight reduced in the star rating algorithm. Balance out reviews that age out by constantly asking for new ones. Tie triggers to actions in the customer lifecycle, like purchase anniversaries.
- 4
Keep asking through rough patches
You want to ask every customer for a review because a complaint is a gift. It helps you spot points in your operation to improve. One brand built an operational playbook from it.
- 5
Close the loop on complaints
Fix what went wrong, and follow up with the customer. Then they can update their review with the resolution. At Aspect, we call those Spotlight reviews because you should be featuring them.
How does star rating impact conversion?
Northwestern’s Spiegel Research Center measured how a star rating impacts conversion for high-consideration purchases. The likelihood of purchasing expensive items climbs with the star rating. But it peaks between 4.2 and 4.5 stars, then dips as it gets closer to a too-perfect 5.0. See how a change in star rating can impact your conversion.
Purchase likelihood (Spiegel curve)
Sweet spot 4.2–4.5★
You today
Your target
Relative purchase likelihood by average star rating, from the Spiegel Research Center’s findings (peak set to 100%). Shoppers read near-perfect scores as too good to be true — 82% seek out negative reviews on purpose. Figures are an estimate, not a guarantee.
How to leverage star ratings for conversions
Badges and on-site trust marks
Review badges and featured-review widgets become marketing assets when your star rating hits 4.0★. Use the rating as social proof on your own site, backed by your profile on ConsumerAffairs.
Search and AI visibility
ConsumerAffairs profiles typically rank for “[brand] reviews” searches. And LLMs draw on the context of reviews to shape their answers.
Buyer’s guide inclusion
To be considered for ConsumerAffairs buyer’s-guide top picks, a brand needs a certain number of reviews in the past 12 months, and needs to be in a covered category.
Create consumer confidence
“We’re not going to get more customers if our online reputation is poor.” When a prospect researches your brand before buying, you want to give them a complete picture of your organization.
Start working with Aspect to set up your review engine.
Aspect by ConsumerAffairs can help you automate review collection and turn your past customers into your best salespeople.