Before the change, the logic was simpler: one product card, one overall rating. I added a new color to the popular position. From day one, it has a reputation accumulated by the entire card. This lowered the barrier of entry for new options and allowed for a rapid increase in sales.
Now each option is a separate unit with a zero rating at launch.
Why did Ozon make this change?
From the buyer's point of view, this is a fair step. If the white sweater has collected 500 reviews with a score of 4.8, and the black one has just been added, the overall rating was misleading. The customer thought he was seeing a proven product, but in reality he was seeing a novelty with a borrowed reputation.
Ozon referred to the results of the experiment: customers who see individual ratings for options make more informed decisions and return items less frequently. For the platform, there is a decrease in refunds and an increase in confidence in the cards.
What exactly is changing
Cards with multiple options now display a separate rating for each one. If the option is new, it doesn't have any stars until the first reviews appear. The search promotion algorithm takes into account the rating of a specific option, rather than a general card.
The old accumulated reviews are not lost during the separation — they remain on the card, but are attributed to the option they were left for. If the buyer did not specify an option in the review, the review belongs to the general pool.
Who is affected more
There are three categories of sellers in the maximum risk zone.
Importers of clothing and footwear: Most of the cards are one product in several sizes and colors. A new color or expansion of the dimensional grid now starts with a zero rating.
Sellers of equipment with several configurations: laptops with different amounts of memory, phones in different colors. There is a separate review history for each configuration.
Sellers who regularly update the range: adding a new option to an existing card now means a complete restart of the rating for this option.
How to adapt
The strategy of launching a new version now requires active work with the first reviews. Tools: participation in Ozon promotions with additional traffic to the new version, a feedback program for points, advertising directly to the new version in the first 2-4 weeks.
For cards with a large number of options, prioritize them: do not add all the options at once, but run them sequentially, giving everyone time to gain a database of reviews.
