Ratings & Reviews are the star score and written feedback on your listing — a top conversion driver and a ranking signal, where both the average and the volume and recency matter.
Ratings work on conversion and ranking at once. The visible star average is one of the strongest conversion signals a shopper sees — the drop-off below roughly four stars is steep, because users read a low score as a quality warning. The stores also factor ratings into ranking, and not just the average: volume and recency count, so a steady flow of recent positive ratings outperforms a high score that has gone stale. Reviews add qualitative trust and, on a practical level, a feedback stream for the product.
The lever you control is the prompt. Asking for a rating at the right moment — after a user hits a success, not mid-task — and using the system rating prompt lifts both volume and average. Responding to reviews, especially critical ones, can recover ratings and shows prospective users an attentive team. Review velocity is fragile, so protecting it is ongoing ASO work, not a one-time push.
Example
An app moves its rating prompt to fire right after a user completes their first successful workout instead of on app launch — review volume and average both climb, lifting conversion.