As the digital shelf continues to reshape how consumers discover and evaluate products, brands must rethink how product pages inform, inspire and convert. Authentic consumer feedback, visual reviews and community-driven content are quickly becoming essential elements of the modern product experience.
According to Niclas Forssten, Nordic Digital Marketing & E-commerce Manager at Henkel, the role of the product page has expanded far beyond simple conversion.
— I work with the strategic responsibility for our brands’ digital presence across the Nordic markets, with a strong focus on e-commerce. The opportunities are enormous, trends move faster than ever and today we can measure performance more precisely than before. At the same time, the industry is undergoing a major shift where retail media and first-party data are becoming critical, which is a key focus area for us.
The digital shelf is becoming an information hub
As consumer journeys become increasingly omnichannel, product pages must serve several purposes beyond simply driving online sales.
— A consumer might research a product online and buy it in store, while another stands in the store and searches online to see if the product matches their needs and values. That means product pages today must be evaluated on far more parameters than conversion rate alone. In many cases they function more like information hubs than the actual point of sale.
At the same time, expectations around product content continue to evolve.
— What used to be considered advanced features, such as image carousels, video and reviews, are now simply hygiene factors. Consumers increasingly expect native, community-driven and user-generated content that feels more authentic and trustworthy than traditional brand communication.
Why ratings and reviews matter
Ratings and reviews have become a central part of how consumers evaluate products before making a purchase.
— Consumer feedback is extremely important. A product without ratings is a bit like a sailboat without sails. It’s there, but it doesn’t really do the job it’s supposed to do. Consumers are often better at describing products than brands themselves, and the tone becomes more authentic and relatable.
— That’s why building engaged communities around your brand is so valuable, as people sharing their real experiences help others make better purchase decisions.
Visual content strengthens the product experience
Alongside written reviews, images and videos from real users are becoming increasingly influential in the decision-making process.
— A picture says more than a thousand words and a video says more than a thousand pictures. Visual reviews provide much more context for consumers and make it easier to understand how a product works in real life.
Because the format resembles the content people already consume on social media, it also becomes more engaging. When content is engaging, consumers are more likely to pause, take in the information and ultimately convert.
Henkel partners with Smartson in the Nordics
During spring 2026, Henkel will collaborate with Smartson in the Nordic markets to generate authentic reviews and user-generated content from real consumers.
— We are very excited about the collaboration with Smartson. It gives us the opportunity to create a seamless experience from our media campaigns to user-generated content on social media and further into the product pages on our e-commerce platforms.
— A consumer who sees one of our products on social media should get the same feeling and experience when landing on the product page. Entertaining, informative and conversion-driving.
Brands included in the upcoming activation
The upcoming Nordic activation will include several brands from the Schwarzkopf portfolio:
- Schwarzkopf Live
- Schwarzkopf Gliss
- Schwarzkopf Creme Supreme
- got2b
The activations will cover three key categories: hair colour, hair care and hair styling.