You may run into a situation when you can't use the Ratings and Reviews JavaScript, or you need to display a static rating. In these cases, you can use a PowerReviews Review Data Summary XML file.
PowerReviews offers this standard XML file, which includes the following attributes: star ratings, number of reviews, Pros, and Cons. This data is provided for each product in your catalog that has review content. Your development team can then parse this XML file and ingest the contents into your database so you can associate the average star rating with products in your catalog.
PowerReviews updates the Summary XML file every 24 hours. It's best practice to parse this file and ingest the contents into your own database on a regular schedule.
Two fields can be used for an average rating. Each field displays this information differently:
- <averageoverallrating> - This is based on the star value and will always be rounded to the nearest half-star
For example, you may see a 4.0 or 4.5. This indicates that the star image that would display for the product would be 4 stars or 4 ½ stars.
- <average_rating_decimal> - This is a true average of all ratings divided by the number of reviews. This number is not rounded.
For example: 4.3, 3.7, etc. If you want the most accurate overall rating, you would want to use this value.
To receive an XML file of your average star ratings, contact your Implementation Team or PowerReviews Technical Support.
Note: As discussed here, PowerReviews does not recommend using XML data to drive category or product snippets. Using PowerReviews-provided JavaScript is recommended as a best practice.
Example File
<product xsi:type="ProductWithReviews" locale="en_US">
<pageid>001</pageid>
<name>Product Name</name>
<smallstarimagelocation>pwr/engine/images/stars_small.gif</smallstarimagelocation>
<largestarimagelocation>pwr/engine/images/stars.gif</largestarimagelocation>
<newestreviewdate>2016-12-01</newestreviewdate>
<oldestreviewdate>2015-11-21</oldestreviewdate>
<averageoverallrating>4</averageoverallrating>
<average_rating_decimal>4</average_rating_decimal>
<fullreviews>6</fullreviews>
<confirmstatusgroup>
<confirmstatus>Unverified</confirmstatus>
</confirmstatusgroup>
<taggroup key="cons" name="Cons">
<tag isuseradded="true" count="1">Wears out quickly</tag>
</taggroup>
<taggroup key="pros" name="Pros">
<tag isuseradded="false" count="1">Versatile</tag>
<tag isuseradded="true" count="2">Comfortable</tag>
</taggroup>
<taggroup key="sizing" name="Sizing">
<tag isuseradded="false" count="1">Feels true to size</tag>
</taggroup>
<taggroup key="wasthisagift" name="Was this a gift?">
<tag isuseradded="false" count="4">No</tag>
</taggroup>
<bottom_line_yes_votes>5</bottom_line_yes_votes>
<bottom_line_no_votes>0</bottom_line_no_votes>
<customerimages>true</customerimages>
<customervideos>false</customervideos>
</product>
