Star Rating will be adjusted on August 6th

3 Metrics of Star Ratings will be adjusted on August 6th

Become star supplier, get extra traffic; High probability of getting at least 15 inquiries monthly.

Adjustment 1: Under service capability, quick response rate will be simplified to 24-hour inquiry response rate; Previously, star ratings require the first-time response for inquiries within 24 hours and instant message within 1 hour. Now, only inquiry response within 24 hours is required under star ratings.

Adjustment 2: Under marketing capability, visitors directed from keyword advertising will be excluded from Active visitors and Conversion rate. Now, using KWA will not affect these two metrics.

Launch time: The adjustment will be reflected on forecasted star rating starting from August 6th but will not affect the August’s star ratings.

Suggesed action 1: Ensure the first-time response to each inquiry is within 24 hours so you are eligible to be a star supplier and get extra traffic.

Suggested action 2: 24-hour countdown starts from the moment the buyer send the inqiury. If you cannot check e-mail in time, we suggest you install Alibaba Supplier App on your cell phone and enable the inquiry reminder function.

Suggested action 3: Although the quick response of instant message is not required under star ratings anymore, we still encourage you to reply instant message as soon as possible because quick reponse is more likely to get order.

FAQ
Q1: Will the adjustment affect star supplier’s privilege on August.
A1. No. The adjustment will only be reflected on forecast ratings but will affect on September’s star ratings.

Q2: Will the thresholds be adjusted accordingly on the three metrics?
A2: No. The thresholds for each level stay the same. For example, the star 1 threshold for the indicator rating of 24 hour inquiry response rate is 70%.

Q3: Will quick response rate still determine star rating after the adjustment?
A3: No. Quick response rate will be replaced by 24 hour inquiry response rate.

Q4: What’s the definition of 24 hour inquiry response rate?
A4: Number of inquiries replied to ON TIME/Total number of inquiries in the previous 30 days. ON TIME means first-time inquiry replies are within 24 hours.

Q5: What’s the definition of Active visitors after the adjustment?
A5. This is the number of inquiry, IM (instant message) or TA(trade assurance) visitors, excluding visitors directed by keyword advertisement, in the previous 30 days;

Q6: What’s the definition of Conversion rate after the adjustment?
A6: This is the number of active visitors, excluding visitors directed by keyword advertisement / total of unique visitors, excluding visitors directed by keyword advertisement in the previous 30 days.