Big box retailers embrace customer reviews

Online customer reviews continue to gain acceptance among big box retailers, with Staples being the second such merchant to recently add this service.

Staples sees "product reviews as a key step in making [the customer] buying experience faster and better informed," said John Giusti, vice president of Staples Business Delivery, in a statement. The national office products retailer joins Wal-Mart which, just last week, launched customer reviews from Bazaarvoice on its Web site.

Visitors to the Staples.com Web site will find reviews that are organized with a tag-based approach, enabling them to quickly find, compare and decide on the right products to buy. Power Reviews, Millbrae, CA, the sevice being used by Staples, Framingham, MA, also identifies which reviews have been written by "verified buyers."