Introduced U-KOMI with the aim of accumulating reviews for its EC. To obtain highly rated reviews from the fan base.

Suzuki Herb Laboratory Co., Ltd. primarily sells the popular “Pineapple Soy Milk Series” of hair removal products through its e-commerce platform. The company implemented U-KOMI with the goal of accumulating reviews on its own e-commerce site and improving conversion rates. As a result, they were able to attract reviews with photos and positive feedback from their fan base, while also achieving improvements to the user interface.In this article, we spoke with 千葉様 and 高橋様, who are in charge of U-KOMI operations at the company, to learn about the reasons behind the implementation and the results achieved.

Selling cosmetics for easy hair removal primarily through our own e-commerce site

First, could you tell us about your business?

Our company operates an e-commerce business selling cosmetics. Our main focus is on skincare products such as toners, and our flagship products include lotions and hair removal creams designed for unwanted hair care, such as the “Pineapple Soy Milk Series.” The “Pineapple Soy Milk Lotion” is a product we are particularly proud of, developed with the needs of our customers in mind, using only the finest ingredients and focusing on delivering tangible results. Our hair removal cream contains over 20 types of natural ingredients, is gentle on the skin, and can even be used by children.

We offer separate product lines for men and women, and some customers use our products as a family, including their children. Many people are concerned about the pungent smell of hair removal creams, but we’ve taken steps to minimize that odor, and we often receive reviews saying, “I didn’t notice any smell.”

Do you have any sales channels besides your own e-commerce site?

We have one physical store where we also sell our products. We also sell on major e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Rakuten, and Yahoo! Shopping, and sales sometimes increase during sales events held by these platforms. That said, sales through our own e-commerce site are our primary focus.

We decided to implement U-KOMI to gather positive reviews on our own e-commerce site

Could you tell us what prompted you to implement a review tool? Also, what challenges did you face before implementation?

We implemented a review tool because we wanted to collect reviews on our own e-commerce site. About four or five years ago, when we were considering implementation, review tools were becoming popular, and it was just starting to be recognized that having other users’ reviews on e-commerce sites and landing pages could improve conversion rates—which was a major factor in our decision. Once we actually implemented the reviews, we could see from heatmaps that customers were spending a significant amount of time reading them.

One challenge we faced before implementation was that, without reviews, customers often went to e-commerce marketplaces instead. Depending on the marketplace, reviews could be negative or abusive, making it easy for customers to encounter negative information. On the other hand, since many of our customers on our own e-commerce site are loyal fans who make repeat purchases, introducing the review feature made it easier to collect positive reviews from our loyal customers.

With other review tools available, what was the deciding factor in choosing U-KOMI?

We had originally been using a tool from overseas, but since it was only available in English, we struggled to use it effectively. Specifically, when we asked customer service for assistance, the responses came back in English, so we didn’t know where to look to resolve the issue, which resulted in unnecessary effort and wasted time. Therefore, we wanted a Japanese-language interface that anyone could easily operate.

In terms of functionality, due to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, we wanted to blur certain parts of the reviews, but the previous tool didn’t allow for editing or modification.

The deciding factor for adoption was that “U-KOMI” met our functional needs, so we decided to switch. It was also great that we could entrust the transfer of reviews and settings from our previous tool to them all at once, which saved us a lot of hassle.

We’ve seen tangible results in enhancing the customer experience, such as acquiring reviews with photos. UI-related issues have also been resolved.

What results have you seen since implementing U-KOMI?

Since adding the review feature, customers have started posting reviews with photos. Since we cannot post photos or similar content ourselves, we feel this is effectively enhancing the customer experience. We’ve also been able to collect reviews from our core fans, and it’s been great to see reviews start coming in for products other than our main items—those not listed on the mall.

Additionally, UI improvements have become evident through the implementation. For instance, we can use the blurring feature as needed, allowing us to operate while mitigating risks related to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. Furthermore, the switch to Japanese labeling has made the system easy for anyone to use. Regarding the customer support department, language-related concerns have been resolved, so they are now able to respond proactively.

Finally, please let us know if you have any requests or expectations for U-KOMI moving forward.

Many customers purchase multiple items at once on our e-commerce site, but since we currently send review request and reminder emails for each individual product, it takes a long time to collect reviews for all items. Therefore, to prevent the collection period from becoming too lengthy, we would appreciate a feature that allows us to request reviews for multiple products in a single email.