What buyers complain about most: grouping comments into themes
by CIA updated 21/09/2026 3 min read
Also available in: Tiếng Việt
Reading 300 comments and concluding "customers complain about quality" is not finishing the job. The job is counting: how often each theme appears. A theme appearing 40 times and a theme appearing 3 times lead to two completely different sourcing decisions.
The 30-minute process
Step 1 — get the data. Comments analysis — 12 credits, up to 300 comments — on two or three videos selling comparable products, including other shops' videos.
Step 2 — read the first 50 comments and name your own themes. Do not use a pre-made taxonomy. Theme names should be the customer's words: "glue came off", "not like the photo", "slow shipping", "smaller than described". Usually five to seven themes emerge.
Step 3 — read the rest and count. Each comment goes into exactly one theme, or into "other". If "other" exceeds a third, go back to step 2 because your theme names are wrong.
Step 4 — rank by frequency and record the date.
What the result looks like
| Theme | Count | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| not like the photo | highest | replace your product photos with real ones |
| slow shipping | high | state expected delivery time in the description |
| wrong size | medium | add a size table with real measurements |
| thin material | low | sourcing criterion |
| broke after a few weeks | low but severe | sourcing criterion, high priority |
The last two rows have low counts but matter more than the first: they are why customers do not buy again, while "not like the photo" is only why one order is returned.
How to use the result
Highest-count theme → fix the content and description. Cheap, fast, immediate effect.
Quality themes → sourcing criteria. This is where you genuinely beat competitors, because they are selling stock with that flaw.
Service themes → your process. Packaging, handling time, how you answer messages.
How often to repeat
After every change of supplier, and quarterly for a niche you are selling in. Keep the old table to compare: a theme that shrank means the fix worked.
One limit to state plainly
Comments are the voice of the vocal group, not of all customers. Most satisfied buyers say nothing, and most disappointed ones simply go quiet and do not return. Your table leans negative, and that is fine — use it to find work to do, not to measure satisfaction.
The tool returns only a display name and the comment text, with nobody's contact details.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a tool that groups themes automatically? CIA returns comments and repeated phrases. Naming themes is better done by you, because the right names depend on your niche and on what you intend to fix.
Should I read my own shop's comments or another shop's? Both. Other shops show you flaws to avoid; your own show flaws to fix now.
How many comments before I can conclude? There is no threshold. If three videos produce the same theme order, you have enough to act.
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