A shopper reading product reviews wants to know if the reviewer actually bought the thing. The “verified purchase” badge is the answer: a small visual confirmation that yes, this person paid money for this product, used it, and wrote about it.
Trustie adds the badge automatically.
How verification happens
When a review is submitted, Trustie checks the reviewer’s email against WooCommerce’s order history for the specific product being reviewed (using WC’s wc_customer_bought_product() function). If the email matches a completed order for that product, the review is flagged verified. Otherwise it still posts (you can accept reviews from non-buyers), just without the verified mark.
The check is strict: same email, same product. Not “any product in the category”, not “any purchase from this shop.” The badge genuinely means “this person bought this thing.”
Where the badge shows
The verified badge renders on every Trustie surface that shows reviews:
- Product pages, on the review tab
- The auto-generated reviews page
- The floating widget panel
- Anywhere a review card renders via shortcodes
The visual is deliberately subtle: a small check icon next to the reviewer’s name with “Verified Purchase” on hover. Loud enough to notice when you’re looking, not so loud that unverified reviews look second-class.
Why it matters
Shoppers learn fast to weight verified reviews differently. The shop owner doesn’t have to explain what the badge means: a small check next to a name signals “this happened” to anyone who’s bought anything online in the last decade.
The other half of the value is dishonest reviews. A competitor who creates a fake account and writes negative reviews about your products will not pass the verification check. Their review still appears (if your moderation lets it through), but without the badge, signalling the difference to anyone reading.
Why shops turn it on with Pro
Free covers the badge on product reviews. Trustie Pro extends verification to additional contexts: a verified-purchaser-only display mode (only verified reviews show in public displays, others go to moderation), and a verified-purchaser filter on the reviews page (shoppers can choose to see only verified reviews).