The Easiest Way to Move Your Reviews When Switching Shopify Review Apps

Switching Shopify review apps is extremely common, especially when merchants want:

• Lower subscription costs
• A cleaner widget
• Better features
• More control over their review data
• Google Product Ratings support

But switching becomes stressful when you’re not sure how to move your existing reviews safely.

The good news?

👉 Every major Shopify review app allows CSV export and CSV import, which means you can move your entire review history without losing anything.

This guide shows exactly how to migrate reviews between Judge.me, Loox, Okendo, Stamped, or any other review platform.

Let’s get started.

Why Moving Your Reviews Is Important

When switching review apps, keeping your review history ensures:

• Your social proof stays intact
• Your product pages don’t lose credibility
• Your Google star ratings remain active
• You protect years of valuable customer content
• You don’t start from zero again

Your reviews are one of your store’s most valuable assets, treat them like data you own.

How Shopify Review Migration Works (Simple Explanation)

This process is the same across all major review apps:

1. Export your reviews as a CSV
2. Clean the CSV (formatting issues, identifiers, timestamps)
3. Adjust column names to match the new app
4. Import the cleaned CSV into the new platform
5. Optionally convert your CSV to XML for Google Ratings

Because CSV is a universal format, migrating is much easier than most people expect.

If you need help exporting your reviews, start here: How to Export Reviews from Judge.me, Loox, Okendo & Stamped

Step-by-Step: How to Move Reviews Between Any Two Apps

Step 1: Export All Reviews From Your Current App

This gives you a full CSV containing:

• Review IDs
• Star ratings
• Review text
• Reviewer name
• Timestamps
• Product identifiers
• Verification status
• Photos (URLs)

Every app allows exporting:

• Judge.me → Manage Reviews → Export
• Loox → Manage Reviews → Export CSV
• Okendo → Settings → Data → Export
• Stamped → Reviews → All Reviews → Export

Step 2: Clean the CSV (Important!)

Before you import into your new review app, clean the CSV.

Remove:

• Emojis
• HTML tags
• Broken line breaks
• Misformated timestamps
• Missing ratings
• Duplicate review IDs

Full checklist here: How to Clean Your Review CSV

This step prevents failed imports and keeps your data consistent.

Step 3: Make Sure Product Identifiers Match

Your new app expects product identifiers that match your Shopify store.

Make sure:

• SKUs match exactly
• Variant SKUs are correct
• GTINs and MPNs are accurate

Identifier mismatches cause:

• Reviews attaching to wrong products
• Reviews not appearing at all
• Google Ratings failing

If you need help aligning identifiers, see: How to Match Reviews to SKUs, GTINs & MPNs

Step 4: Adjust Column Headers for the New Platform

Every review app uses slightly different column names.

Examples:

• Judge.me uses reviewer_name
• Loox uses author
• Okendo uses customer_name

Rename your headers to match the new app’s import template.

Most apps provide a downloadable sample CSV you can copy the structure from.

Step 5: Import Reviews Into Your New App

Upload your cleaned and remapped CSV.

Common import locations:

• Judge.me → Settings → Import Reviews
• Loox → Settings → Import
• Okendo → Settings → Data → Import
• Stamped → Reviews → Import CSV

Most imports take a few minutes to process.

Once they finish, your reviews should appear instantly on product pages.

Step 6: (Optional) Convert CSV to XML for Google Product Ratings

If you want your stars to appear on:

• Google Shopping
• Free Listings
• Shopping Ads
• Performance Max

…you must upload an XML review feed.

Google does not accept CSV files.

Generate a Google-ready XML feed using: Review2XML

Then upload it here: How to Upload Product Reviews to Google Shopping

What Happens to Your Google Product Ratings After Migration?

Google does not care which review app you use.

Google only cares that your XML contains:

• Correct product identifiers
• Valid timestamps
• Structured review data
• A proper XML format

As long as your CSV is clean and properly formatted, switching apps does not affect your ability to show stars.

If your stars disappear, troubleshoot using: Why Your Product Ratings Aren’t Showing

Migration Examples

Here are some common migration flows merchants follow:

• Loox → Judge.me (to save money)
• Judge.me → Okendo (for branding/custom fields)
• Stamped → Judge.me (pricing)
• Loox → Okendo (photos + attributes)

All of these follow the same export → clean → map → import process.

Final Thoughts

Switching Shopify review apps doesn’t need to be stressful, your data belongs to you, and CSV makes migration simple.

To recap:

1. Export your reviews from your current app
2. Clean and standardize the CSV
3. Match identifiers to your product feed
4. Remap columns for the new app
5. Import the CSV into the new platform
6. (Optional) Generate a Google Product Ratings XML feed

If you’re planning to show stars on Google Shopping, the next step is:

• Convert your CSV into XML
• Upload your XML to Google

Smooth migration → clean CSV → valid XML → stars appear everywhere on Google.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my Google Shopping star ratings disappear when I switch review apps?

Your stars stay live as long as your existing feed remains active in Merchant Center. They will only disappear if your feed expires or you delete it. After migrating, upload a fresh XML from your new app to keep ratings current.

Can I import all my old reviews into a new Shopify review app?

Most major apps support CSV import: Judge.me, Loox, Okendo, Stamped, and Junip all have import functionality. Export your reviews from your old app, then import into the new one using their CSV import tool.

Do I lose review photos and videos when switching apps?

It depends on the apps. Most CSV exports do not include media files — only text, ratings, and metadata. Check with your new platform's support team about importing media.

How long does it take for star ratings to update after I upload a new feed?

Typically 2 to 6 weeks after the new feed goes Live in Merchant Center. The feed itself processes within a few days of upload.

Can I merge reviews from two different apps into one feed?

Yes. Export from both apps, combine the CSV files (ensure consistent column names), and upload the merged file to Review2XML to generate a single XML feed.