Product Reviews for a Dropshipping Store: Collect Real Ones
A dropshipping store gets genuine product reviews the same way any store does: from its own customers, after their order arrives. On Shopify, the Shop app asks buyers for a review automatically after delivery, and a review app adds requests by email and a review widget on your product pages. Importing the supplier’s reviews from a marketplace is a shortcut some how-to guides describe, and it’s the one we’d avoid, because those reviews describe someone else’s purchase, delivery and service.
Shop app facts come from Shopify’s Help Center page on Shop product reviews, read on October 23, 2026, and the US rule from the FTC’s Q&A on the consumer reviews and testimonials rule, read on October 31, 2026. This isn’t legal advice.
Where reviews come from on Shopify
| Source | How reviews arrive | Where they show | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop app | After delivery, the buyer gets a Shop push or in-app notification asking for a review | Product details page in the Shop app | Part of the Shop channel |
| Review app | Requests set up in the app, such as an email after the order; widgets for product pages | Your online store; some apps sync eligible reviews to Shop | The app’s plan |
| Imported supplier reviews | Copied from a marketplace listing by an import tool | Your product pages | Varies, plus the risks below |
Shop app reviews follow clear rules. Only Shop customers who bought the product from you can submit one. They rate it from 1 to 5 stars and can add a comment of up to 1,000 characters. Shopify uses efforts to screen reviews against the Shop Product Review Policies before they’re published, and the reviews and average rating are public on the product’s page in Shop. Shopify also notes that Shop isn’t responsible for the content or accuracy of the reviews you receive.
If you collect reviews with a supported third-party app, eligible reviews it collects can also be shown on Shop, including images and videos that meet Shop’s requirements.
Importing supplier reviews: the risk
Review import tools copy ratings and comments from a supplier’s marketplace page onto your product page. Three problems follow:
- They aren’t your customers. The reviewers bought from another seller, with that seller’s shipping time, packing and support. Your delivery might be slower, your packaging different. A review that praises “arrived in 3 days” says nothing true about your store.
- The law cares who reviewed what. In the United States, the FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials took effect on October 21, 2024. Its Q&A describes provisions against fake reviews and against misrepresenting a reviewer’s experience with a product. In our reading, showing another seller’s customers as if they were yours is close to that line; if you show any imported reviews at all, label them clearly as coming from another marketplace, and don’t filter out the negative ones.
- The product may not be the same. Suppliers change materials and factories. A review from two years ago may describe a different version of the item you ship.
We’d launch a product without reviews and collect real ones from the first orders.
Ask for reviews after delivery
Ask once the customer has the product and has had a few days to use it:
- The Shop app sends its request after delivery, so add tracking numbers to your fulfillments, which keeps delivery status visible.
- A review app lets you set the delay. For dropshipping, base it on your supplier’s real delivery time plus a few days of use; a request that arrives before the parcel asks about a product the customer hasn’t seen.
- Your own emails can ask too. A thank-you email after a second order is a natural place; see post-purchase emails.
Make the request easy: one link, the product photo, and a sentence on why reviews matter to a small store. If you offer an incentive, offer it for any honest review, never only for positive ones.
Answer bad reviews
A negative review on a dropshipped product can be about delivery time or a quality issue at the supplier, and both are useful signals. Reply publicly where the platform allows it, keep it factual, say what you’re doing (refund, replacement, a different supplier), and take details to email. If several reviews name the same defect, that’s a supplier problem: run the checks in how to vet a dropshipping supplier again, or drop the product.
The FTC’s Q&A also covers the other side: a business can refuse to publish reviews about the wrong business, and can have a policy against reviews that mention other products as long as it applies to positive and negative reviews equally. It also says not to make false accusations against reviewers.
For AI tools that help with review summaries and product content, see AI for Shopify dropshipping. Other guides on suppliers and delivery are in the shipping and returns hub.
FAQ
Can I import AliExpress reviews to my Shopify store? Import tools exist, but those reviews come from another seller’s customers. If you use them at all, label them as imported from another marketplace and keep the negative ones; collecting your own reviews is the safer route.
How do Shop app product reviews work? After an order is delivered, Shop asks the buyer for a 1-to-5-star rating and an optional comment of up to 1,000 characters. Only customers who bought the product can review it, and Shopify uses efforts to screen reviews before publishing.
When should I ask a dropshipping customer for a review? Ask after the parcel has arrived and the customer has used the product for a few days. Base the delay on your supplier’s real delivery time.
Should I reply to negative reviews? Reply publicly and factually where you can, say what you’re doing about it, and move the details to email. Repeated complaints about the same defect point to a supplier problem.