There are three ways to get UGC videos for Shopify: ask buyers, gift products yourself, or use a platform
UGC stands for user-generated content. For a Shopify store, UGC videos are product videos shot by customers or reviewers instead of by your brand. They work on product pages, in ads, and in email because they show the product in real hands.
You have three realistic ways to collect them:
- Ask your buyers. Request a video in your post-purchase review emails.
- Gift products by hand. Find people yourself, ship them the product, and ask for a video.
- Use Reviewers.com. Offer free product to its vetted reviewers and receive the videos in your Shopify admin.
A quick rule of thumb: if you already get steady orders, start with method 1. If orders are thin, or you need videos for one specific product soon, look at methods 2 and 3. Method 3 is for US-based Shopify brands that want a platform to handle sourcing and follow-up.
This guide reflects Reviewers.com's website and help center, checked on October 19, 2026. Sources are listed at the end. We keep this page to choosing a method. For the review-request emails behind method 1, see how to get more reviews with Loox. For a full look at the service, see our Reviewers.com review.
Method 1: Ask your buyers. It costs little, but volume follows your order count
Asking buyers means inviting people who already bought to send a video after they've used the product. You don't ship anything extra, so there's no added product cost.
It suits stores with regular orders and automated review requests. The limit is volume: only a fraction of customers will film anything, and video takes more effort than a star rating or a photo.
How to run it:
- Say plainly in the request email that you'd love a short video of them using the product, and make clear it's optional.
- Send the request once the product has arrived and been used. Our review request emails guide covers timing.
- Tell people where the video may appear and get their agreement in the submission form.
That last point is the one merchants miss. A video a customer posts to your reviews isn't automatically fair game for ads. Put the intended uses in the request or form wording. For incentives and disclosure, see the incentives section of our Loox guide.
Method 2: Gift products by hand. You choose the people, and you do all the follow-up
Manual gifting means you pick creators or customers, message them, ship product, and ask for a video. You control who films and what you ask for.
It works best when you already know the people you want, or when you need a specific kind of video from a specific person.
The workload is yours:
- Find candidates, reach out, and wait for replies.
- Collect addresses and ship.
- Chase videos that don't arrive.
- Agree on where the video can be used (product page only, or ads too) and keep that agreement on file.
Sending a product doesn't guarantee a video or a post. Decide what you're asking for before you ship. For a side-by-side look, see Reviewers.com vs manual gifting.
Method 3: Reviewers.com. Send free product to vetted US reviewers and collect videos
Reviewers.com describes itself as a sampling platform where brands share free products with a community of vetted reviewers (official site, checked October 19, 2026).
Who can use it
The overview page says it's available to any US-based Shopify brand (overview), and the reviewers are US-based for now. To create a campaign you need Shopify Checkout turned on and the product in stock for the whole campaign (campaign guide). We couldn't confirm from official pages whether brands outside the US can join.
How a campaign runs
According to the help center (same guide):
- In the app, choose Create a new campaign, pick one product, set 5 or 10 items, and define your audience.
- The Reviewers.com team reviews the campaign. Once approved, it reaches eligible reviewers within about 24 to 48 hours.
- Reviewers claim spots first come, first served and order on your store with a 100% discount code that starts with "RVS-".
- You fulfill those orders like any other.
- After delivery and your chosen delay, reviewers get a request to submit a video, which passes an AI quality check before it reaches you.
A campaign runs up to 7 days or until all items are claimed, and it can't be extended. Setup details are in our getting started guide.
How many videos to expect
The help center says brands typically see reviews within 1 to 3 weeks of going live and gives an expected no-show rate of 10 to 20% (after your campaign goes live). The website mentions about 8 video reviews from 10 items. Treat both as the company's own estimates, not guarantees.
Quality, and what you can't ask for
Each video is checked by AI for clarity, audio, content, and on-camera presence. If it fails, the reviewer gets feedback and resubmits. Reviewers can't edit after submitting, and brands can't request edits or reshoots. You can choose not to use a video or send feedback through Manage Reviews (quality article). If you need scripted footage, method 2 is a better fit.
What to put in the brief
The brief shapes the videos. Describe the moments you'd like to see, and leave the verdict to the reviewer. Our campaign brief guide shows how.
Compare the three methods on cost, effort, volume, and video use
Prices are USD, checked on the official help center on October 19, 2026.
| What you compare | Ask buyers | Gift by hand | Reviewers.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash cost | Your review-request tool; no product given | Product and shipping; plus fees if you pay creators | $150/month (1 campaign included) plus product and shipping |
| Finding people | None; buyers come to you | You search and message | The platform offers it to its reviewers |
| Volume | Depends on orders | Depends on who says yes | 5 or 10 items per campaign; the company cites a 10 to 20% no-show estimate |
| Video content | Whatever buyers choose to film | Agreed with each person | Guided by your brief and audience; no reshoot requests |
| Best for | Steady order flow | Specific people or scripted footage | US-based store that wants sourcing handled |
These aren't exclusive. A store with orders can run method 1 all year and add a Reviewers.com campaign only for products that still lack video.
Check video rights, disclosure, and where the videos will live before you collect
How you can use the videos depends on the method.
For Reviewers.com, the overview page says brands get full usage rights to every video, and that exported reviews can be used across Facebook ads, TikTok campaigns, and marketing emails (overview, checked October 19, 2026). To export, go to Manage Reviews and choose Export reviews, which downloads a CSV with a video file URL for each review (export guide).
The pages we checked don't state a license length, territory, or conditions for paid ads. If ads are the plan, email brands@reviewers.com before you sign up and keep the reply.
With methods 1 and 2, usage rights come from the agreement you make. Write the permitted uses into the request and keep consent on record.
Videos made from free product should be presented that way to viewers. Reviewers.com says its reviews meet FTC transparency guidelines and doesn't require a particular rating from reviewers (quality article). When you publish a video on your own pages, make the product gift clear. Our Loox guide summarizes the FTC's consumer reviews rule.
Decide where the videos will live
Pick one placement to start:
- Product page: answer pre-purchase questions about size and feel.
- Ads: use clips once you've confirmed the rights.
- Email: use them in post-purchase and back-in-stock messages.
If you use Loox, Reviewers.com videos sync to it automatically. With other review apps, you import the CSV. See Loox vs Reviewers.com for how the two fit together.
Budget for the subscription and the product separately
Reviewers.com costs $150 per month and includes one campaign. Each extra campaign is $150. New merchants get a 30-day free trial with one free campaign, and any further campaign during the trial is charged (pricing and credits, checked October 19, 2026).
Free covers the service fee. The product and shipping stay on you. Our referral link carries a 10% subscription discount; check the terms on the signup screen. More on budgeting is in the Reviewers.com pricing guide.
Pricing source · 2026-09-08
Work out cost per video only after you've received usable videos. Dividing by the number of items gifted will misstate it.
FAQ
Is a UGC video the same as an influencer video? Here, UGC means a video shot by a customer or reviewer after using the product. A creator you hire to produce an ad is a different arrangement with its own terms.
Can a store outside the US use Reviewers.com? The overview page targets US-based Shopify brands. We couldn't confirm eligibility for others, so start with method 1 or 2 if you don't qualify.
Does the free trial mean I pay nothing? The first campaign's service fee is free. Your product and shipping aren't.
Can I ask a reviewer to reshoot? No. Brands can't request edits or reshoots on Reviewers.com, though submissions are quality-checked before they reach you.
Where should I begin? Choose one product with a clear pre-purchase question that video can answer. Settle who will ship, and which page will show the videos.
Next step: pick one product and start a Reviewers.com campaign
If you're a US-based Shopify brand and want to skip the search for creators, choose one product and start a Reviewers.com campaign. The 30-day trial covers the service fee for your first campaign. Decide your stock, who ships, and which page will show the videos before you submit, so approval to delivery runs smoothly.
Official sources checked (October 19, 2026)
