Naver is overhauling its review service to more effectively convey visitor experiences for businesses registered on its Place platform.
The company announced on the 18th that it will gradually revamp its Place review service throughout the year, including introducing numerical supplementary indicators.
Until now, Naver Place has operated with qualitative reviews based on keywords, photos, videos, and text to comprehensively convey various characteristics, strengths, and visitor experiences of locations.
Going forward, the company will maintain and strengthen this qualitative review-centered structure while adding "numerical information" as a supplementary indicator for users.
The update responds to persistent user requests for intuitive information that allows them to grasp overall satisfaction at a glance when searching for places. While qualitative reviews have provided information about atmosphere, characteristics, and expected experiences, the new numerical indicators are expected to help users gain comprehensive understanding by providing an intuitive scale.
Starting February 6, users will be able to record their satisfaction with a location using a 5-point star rating system, in addition to qualitative reviews through text and keywords.
Star ratings left by users will be converted into average scores and displayed with a star icon on the Place review tab. Existing text and representative keywords will also be arranged for easy viewing alongside the ratings.
The newly collected numerical data will only be gathered for a certain period to ensure data stability and fairness. During this time, the information will be visible only to the user who wrote the review and the business owner, not to general users. Specific timing and methods of public display will be announced separately to Place business owners later.
Business owners will be able to choose whether to make the collected numerical indicators public to general users. The default setting will maintain the value currently set by business owners, so those who do not wish to display numerical indicators can continue operating their review tabs as before without additional confirmation or selection procedures.
Naver plans to continue strengthening policies to prevent review abuse and enhance credibility.
Reviews and star ratings will only be editable within three months of posting. This measure aims to block abusive review attempts made during periods unrelated to actual experiences, maintaining review quality and protecting Place business owners.
Revisions to the review tab to enhance the effectiveness of Place review information will also proceed sequentially throughout the year.
Naver stated it will improve the overall review experience, including redesigning keyword reviews—which have earned high satisfaction from business owners for highlighting business characteristics and allowing users to see reactions at a glance through keywords—into a more intuitive format.