Review Request Email Template: Copy These + Send Timing

A good review request email template is short, personal, and sent after the customer has actually used the product. Send it 5-7 days after delivery (not after purchase), link straight to the review form, ask one thing only, and follow up once with a reminder if there's no response.

Most stores get this wrong in the same way: they fire off the request the moment the order confirmation goes out, long before the box has even left the warehouse. The customer has nothing to say yet. This guide gives you templates you can copy, the timing logic behind them, subject lines, a reminder script, and the rules for incentives.

What Makes a Review Request Email Template Work?

A review request email works when it feels like a personal note from a person, not a survey from a system. It names the product, makes the ask effortless, and arrives when the customer has an opinion worth sharing.

Four elements do most of the work:

• A specific product reference. "How's your Ember linen throw?" beats "How was your order?" every time.
• One clear action. One button, one link. Don't also ask them to follow you on Instagram.
• A direct review link. Every extra click costs you responses. Link to the review form for that exact product, ideally with star rating clickable inside the email.
• A human sender. Send from a real name, like "Maya at Ember," not "noreply@".

Social proof is worth the effort. The Spiegel Research Center at Northwestern University found that displaying reviews can lift conversion for a product by up to 270% compared with showing none, with the biggest effect on higher-priced items. That's a research finding, not a promise for your store, but it explains why a handful of honest reviews on a new product page matters so much. If you haven't set up the display side yet, our guide on how to add product reviews to your online store walks through it.

When to Send a Review Request Email

Send the request 5-7 days after the order is delivered, adjusted by product type. Fast-use items like skincare or snacks can go out at day 3-5. Items that need assembly or a trial period need 10-14 days. Always anchor on delivery, not on the order date.

Ask for review after delivery, not after purchase

Shipping times vary. A customer who ordered on Monday and received the parcel on Friday doesn't want a review request on Tuesday. Trigger your post purchase review email from the carrier's delivered status, then add a delay. If your shipping tool doesn't expose delivery events, estimate: ship date plus the average transit time, plus your delay.

Timing by product type

Product type	Send after delivery	Why
Consumables (coffee, snacks, supplements)	3-5 days	They've tried it; the memory is fresh
Skincare and beauty	10-14 days	Results take a couple of weeks to show
Apparel and shoes	5-7 days	Fit and feel are clear fast, and returns window is still open
Home decor and furniture	7-10 days	Needs to be placed and lived with
Electronics and gadgets	10-14 days	Customers need real use time
Digital products	2-3 days	Value is felt almost immediately

One caution on apparel: if a customer returns the item, suppress the review request. Asking someone who just sent your product back for a five-star rating is a quick way to collect a one-star one.

Best day and time

Weekday mornings tend to work for most B2C stores, but don't obsess over it. Test Tuesday through Thursday, early morning versus early evening, and let your own open rates decide. Timing relative to delivery matters far more than the hour on the clock.

Review Request Email Templates You Can Copy

Here are four templates built for different situations. Swap the bracketed fields for your own details, and keep the tone you'd use in a real email to a friend who bought from you.

Template 1: The standard post purchase review email

Subject: How's your [product name]?

Hi [First name],

Your [product name] should have reached you a few days ago. I hope you're enjoying it.

Would you take 60 seconds to tell other shoppers what you think? Honest feedback, good or bad, helps us improve and helps the next customer choose with confidence.

[Leave a review button]

Thanks for supporting a small shop,
[Your name], [Store name]

Template 2: The star-rating-first version

Put five clickable stars in the email itself. One click records the rating and lands the customer on a page where the written review is optional. This lowers friction dramatically, because rating takes two seconds and writing takes two minutes. Many people will do the first and a good share of them will continue to the second.

Subject: Quick question about your [product name]

Hi [First name], how would you rate your [product name]?

[★ ★ ★ ★ ★ clickable]

One click is all it takes. If you want to add a few words, we'd love to read them.

[Your name]

Template 3: The review reminder email

A review reminder email should go out 5-7 days after the first request and be shorter than the original. Send exactly one. Two reminders is nagging; zero leaves reviews on the table.

Subject: Still loving your [product name]?

Hi [First name],

Just a quick nudge. If you've had a chance to try your [product name], your review would mean a lot, and it takes under a minute.

[Leave a review button]

No pressure if you're busy. Thanks either way.
[Your name]

Template 4: The photo review request

Subject: Show us your [product name] in the wild

Hi [First name],

We'd love to see how your [product name] looks in your space. A quick photo with your review helps other shoppers picture it in theirs.

[Add a photo review button]

Thank you,
[Your name]

Review Request Email Subject Lines That Get Opened

The best review request email subject lines are short, personal, and name the product. Questions outperform commands, and anything that sounds like a marketing blast gets ignored. Keep them under 50 characters so they don't truncate on mobile.

• How's your [product name]?
• Quick question about your order
• [First name], how did we do?
• Did your [product name] live up to the hype?
• Got 60 seconds to help another shopper?
• Your honest opinion on [product name]
• Still loving your [product name]? (for reminders)
• One last thing about your order (for reminders)

Avoid ALL CAPS, exclamation stacks, and "URGENT." Also skip "Please review" in the subject line; it reads like a chore. The same principle applies to your recovery emails, and our list of abandoned cart subject lines shows how much a conversational tone changes open rates.

How to Get More Product Reviews with Automated Review Requests

The most reliable way to get more product reviews is to automate the whole sequence: delivery trigger, delay, request, one reminder, then stop. Manual sending falls apart the moment you get busy, and consistency is what builds review volume over months.

A simple automated sequence

1. Trigger: Order marked delivered.
2. Wait: 5-7 days (adjust by product type using the table above).
3. Check: Skip if the order was refunded, returned, or has an open support ticket.
4. Send request: Template 1 or 2.
5. Wait 5-7 days: Skip if they already reviewed.
6. Send reminder: Template 3. Then end the sequence.

Other ways to lift response rates

• Ask on the thank-you page or in the package. A small card with a QR code to the review page catches people who never open email.
• Use SMS sparingly. A single text with a direct link can work for engaged customers who opted in.
• Reply to every review. Visible replies show that someone reads them, which encourages the next customer to write one.
• Make mobile effortless. Most customers will open the email on a phone. Test the form on a small screen.

If you're on Shopify, review automation usually means a paid app. Costs add up quickly, as we break down in our product reviews app cost guide. On Rovela, reviews and automated review requests are included in the standard subscription, so there's no separate plugin bill.

Incentivized Reviews Rules You Need to Know

Incentivized reviews are legal only when you don't condition the reward on a positive review and you clearly disclose the incentive. Offering a discount for any honest review is generally acceptable. Offering it only for five stars is not.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission finalized a rule in 2024 banning fake reviews and testimonials, including buying positive reviews or conditioning compensation on sentiment. You can read the agency's guidance at ftc.gov. Rules differ by country, so check local requirements if you sell abroad.

Do and don't

• Do offer the same reward for every honest review, positive or negative.
• Do disclose the incentive in the review itself or next to it (for example, "Reviewed in exchange for a discount").
• Don't screen reviews and reward only the good ones.
• Don't write reviews yourself or ask friends and family to.
• Don't delete negative reviews that are honest and on-topic.

Platform rules are stricter than the law. Amazon, for instance, prohibits offering compensation for reviews outside its own programs, and Google has similar policies for Business Profile reviews. If you collect on your own store, you have more freedom, but the safest route is to skip incentives entirely and rely on timing and ease. When a negative review does arrive, don't panic; our guide on how to handle negative reviews on your online store covers what to do next.

Common Questions About Asking for Reviews

How many review requests should I send?

Two: one request and one reminder. Beyond that, returns diminish fast and you risk annoying a customer who may buy again.

Should I ask every customer?

Ask everyone except refunded orders, customers with open complaints, and anyone who has already reviewed. Asking only happy customers biases your ratings and can break platform rules.

What's a good response rate?

It varies widely by industry, price point, and list quality. Rather than chasing a benchmark, track your own rate by template and timing, then change one variable at a time.

Can I reuse the same email for every product?

Use one structure, but personalize the product name and image. A dynamic block that pulls the product photo does more than rewriting the whole message.

Put Your Review Requests on Autopilot

To recap: send your review request email after delivery, not purchase; match the delay to how long the product takes to prove itself; keep the copy short with one clear link; send a single reminder; and stay inside the incentive rules. Do that consistently and the reviews pile up without much effort on your part.

If you'd rather not stitch together an app for this, Rovela builds your store from a plain-language conversation with reviews, abandoned cart emails, and marketing automations already included. You can see how it works on the Rovela homepage or check the pricing page to compare against what you pay now for apps.