How to View Product Reviews on Shopify

Product reviews influence purchasing decisions more than any other on-site element. Products with 5 or more reviews convert at 270% higher rates than products with none. This guide covers how to view, manage, and respond to product reviews on Shopify, including what changed after Shopify updated its native review system in 2024.

Can You Still Use Shopify's Built-In Product Reviews?

Shopify offered a free native Product Reviews app for years, but in 2024 it was officially deprecated and removed from the Shopify App Store for new installs. Stores that had it installed prior to the deprecation can continue using it, but it no longer receives updates and Shopify recommends migrating to a supported app.

If you're on a store created after 2024 or you've recently migrated themes, you won't find a "Product Reviews" section in your theme settings. You'll need to install one of the supported third-party apps covered below. This is the most common reason merchants can't find or enable reviews: the native app simply isn't available anymore.

How to View Product Reviews in Your Shopify Admin

If your store uses the legacy Shopify Product Reviews app (installed before deprecation), you can view reviews by navigating to Apps > Product Reviews in your Shopify admin. From here:

1. Log in to your Shopify admin at yourstore.myshopify.com/admin.
2. Click Apps in the left navigation.
3. Click Product Reviews.
4. You'll see all reviews listed with star rating, review text, reviewer name, and date.
5. Filter by product, rating, or status (published/unpublished) using the dropdown menus.
6. Click any review to read the full text and post a public reply.

If you're using Judge.me, Yotpo, or another third-party app, log into that app's dashboard from Apps in your admin. Each has its own review management interface with similar filtering options.

How to Enable Product Reviews on Shopify (Current Method)

For new Shopify stores, the current process is to install a review app and connect it to your theme. Here's how using Judge.me (free plan available):

1. Go to Apps > Shopify App Store in your admin.
2. Search for "Judge.me Product Reviews" and click Install.
3. Follow the onboarding. Judge.me will ask which products to enable reviews on and will automatically inject the review widget into your theme.
4. Go to Online Store > Themes > Customize to verify the review section appears on product pages.
5. In Judge.me's dashboard, enable automatic review request emails to go out 7 to 14 days after fulfillment.

The whole setup takes about 20 minutes and you'll see your first review requests going out automatically the same day.

How to Respond to Product Reviews on Shopify

Responding to reviews, especially negative ones, is one of the highest-impact reputation management actions a store owner can take. Potential buyers read responses to negative reviews to assess how the brand handles problems. Responding within 24 hours signals active management.

In the legacy Shopify app or Judge.me:

1. Open the review in your admin or app dashboard.
2. Click Add a response (Shopify) or Reply (Judge.me).
3. Write a response that acknowledges the customer's experience specifically. Avoid copy-paste templates.
4. For negative reviews, offer a concrete next step (refund, replacement, direct contact) rather than a generic apology.
5. Click Save. The response publishes publicly below the review.

How to Show Product Reviews on Collection Pages and Your Homepage

Most review apps inject reviews on product pages by default, but collection pages and your homepage are where discovery happens. Showing star ratings on collection pages helps shoppers quickly identify well-reviewed products before clicking through.

In Judge.me, go to the Judge.me dashboard, then Widgets > Collection Page. Enable the star rating widget and choose whether to show it below the product title or price. Judge.me automatically pulls the star average for each product. This works on all OS2 themes and requires no custom code on Dawn, Sense, and Craft.

For the homepage, most Shopify themes include a "Featured products" or "Product recommendations" section where Judge.me star ratings appear automatically once the widget is installed. To add a standalone review testimonial section, go to Online Store > Themes > Customize, click Add section, and search for "Testimonials." You can manually add top reviews as quote blocks with star graphics for visual impact.

In Yotpo, go to On-site Widgets > Star Ratings and toggle on collection page display. Yotpo also supports a dedicated Reviews widget block you can add to any homepage section through the Shopify theme editor.

If you use a review app that doesn't natively support collection page ratings, the fallback is to add product metafields with the average rating and use a Liquid snippet in your collection template. This requires theme editing access and some comfort with Liquid, but it is documented in Shopify's developer resources.

How to Get More Product Reviews on Shopify

The best stores don't wait passively for reviews. They build them systematically. Here are the methods that consistently produce the highest review volume:

• Automated post-purchase email: Send a review request 7 to 14 days after delivery, enough time for the customer to have used the product. Judge.me and Yotpo both support this natively with no additional setup beyond enabling the feature.
• Physical packaging insert: Include a card in every order with a QR code linking directly to the review form. Customers who enjoyed the product but wouldn't think to search for a review link will scan if it's right in front of them.
• Loyalty point incentive: Offer a small loyalty point bonus for leaving a review, compliant with Shopify's terms as long as you're not incentivizing specifically positive reviews. Even 50 points ($0.50 value) increases submission rates significantly.
• Email blast to past customers: For products that have zero reviews, send a targeted request to your past customer list via Shopify Email. Even a 2% response rate from a list of 500 generates 10 reviews, enough to trigger the social proof effect.
• Review import from other platforms: If you have reviews on Google, Etsy, or Amazon for the same products, most paid review apps support importing them. Our guide to the best review apps for Shopify covers which apps support cross-platform import and how to do it.

What Review Apps Actually Cost on Shopify (Real Numbers)

Most comparisons between review apps just list features. Here's what you'll actually pay at different order volumes, and what you get at each tier:

• Judge.me Free: Unlimited review requests, photo reviews, Q&A section, basic widgets. No Google Shopping integration. Best for stores under $10k monthly revenue that just need the basics working.
• Judge.me Pro ($15/month): Adds Google Shopping integration (structured data for star ratings in search results, which improves click-through rates by up to 17%), review importing from other platforms, and priority support. Worth it as soon as your catalog is visible in Google Shopping.
• Yotpo Free: Up to 50 orders per month. After that, paid plans start at $15/month. The free plan is too restrictive for stores with any real volume.
• Yotpo Growth ($15/month): Covers up to 800 orders per month, includes SMS review requests, social sharing, and UGC collections. Better than Judge.me Pro if you have a strong social media strategy.
• Okendo (from $19/month): Premium option with advanced segmentation, attribute-based reviews (asking customers to rate specific product attributes like "comfort" or "sizing"), and deep Klaviyo integration. Suitable for stores doing $500k+ annually where review quality and segmentation matter more than cost.

The practical rule: start with Judge.me Free, upgrade to Pro when you're running Google Shopping ads, and consider Okendo only when you need the attribute review or enterprise segmentation features.

How to Use Review Data to Improve Your Shopify Store

Most merchants read reviews reactively, responding to problems after they appear. The stores that get the most out of their review system treat review content as a product research tool.

Identify recurring complaints before they become a pattern. If five separate reviews mention that sizing runs small, that's a signal to update your size guide, add a sizing note to the product description, and potentially adjust your returns policy. Catching this at 5 reviews is much cheaper than catching it at 50.

Extract the language your customers use naturally. Review text is full of phrases your customers use when they think about your products, phrases that may not appear in your product descriptions. If customers keep describing your candles as "not too strong," that's a keyword and a differentiator worth putting in your description and meta tags.

Use star rating distribution to spot fulfillment issues. A product that shifts from 4.5 stars to 3.5 stars over a specific period may have had a batch quality issue, a supplier change, or a shipping problem. Review dates help you correlate the rating drop with an operational event.

Track which products attract the most verified reviews. High review velocity on specific products often signals high customer satisfaction and repeat intent. These are good candidates for featured placement, bundles, or cross-sells.

Read 3-star reviews most carefully. 1-star reviews often reflect extreme situations. 5-star reviews are the most common. 3-star reviews are where you find honest, balanced feedback from customers who wanted to like the product but found specific gaps. These are your best source of actionable insight.