As summer arrives, consumers flock to beaches and pools to beat the heat. Among the essential accessories for the tiniest members of the consumer segment is the adorable water diaper. These diapers play a crucial role in keeping baby pools cleaner by allowing little ones to enjoy splashing while maintaining hygiene.

To gain insights, we analyzed consumer review data dating back to 2015 from major retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, and Target. The initial data overview reveals an intriguing story: approximately 18% of the reviews were incentivized, with Walmart being the primary source of incentivized reviews. Conversely, Amazon had only a few incentivized reviews. Considering this slight bias towards incentivized reviews, we will examine insights from all reviews and then exclude incentivized reviews to observe any changes in consumer perspectives.

Product drivers: with and without incentivized reviews

This is an interesting category because besides the usual topics of overall satisfaction, performance, consumers mentioned cuteness factor. Here is a quick sampling of the quotes:

• “The cute little summery patterns on them”
  
• “The adorable octopus print”
• “Super fashionable with the adorable summer prints”

As you can see consumers appreciate an aesthetically pleasing water diaper as much as they appreciate its function.

Other topics that were important to consumer include:

1. Performance and Effectiveness:
   1. Consumers appreciated that swim diapers effectively contained messes and prevented leaks in the water.
   2. The swim diapers were praised for their ability to hold up well during extended periods of swimming and playtime.

2. Comfort and Fit:
   2. Consumers found the swim diapers to be comfortable for their babies, allowing them to move freely in the water.
   3. The fit of the swim diapers was crucial, with many parents mentioning that they appreciated the accurate sizing and secure fit.

3. Convenience and Ease of Use:
   3. The convenience of swim diapers was highlighted, particularly in terms of easy application and removal.
   4. Tear-away sides were mentioned as a convenient feature for quick and hassle-free diaper changes, especially when wet.

4. No Swelling or Bulkiness:
   4. Consumers appreciated that these swim diapers did not swell up or become bulky in the water, providing a more comfortable experience for their babies.
   5. The thin and lightweight design of the swim diapers was preferred over regular diapers, as they didn’t weigh the child down.

5. Value for Money:
   5. Many consumers found Pampers Splashers swim diapers to be reasonably priced and felt that they offered good value for the quality and performance provided.
   6. The affordability of the swim diapers was mentioned as a positive aspect, considering the quantity in each package.

Overall, consumers valued swim diapers that were effective in preventing leaks, comfortable for their babies, easy to use, non-bulky, and offered good value for money.

These topics align with the drivers for five star ratings. We see the water activity, fit, ease of use, and child comfort drive higher scores. We also can see the promotions were also a key driver for influencing the outcome of reviews.

We went ahead and filtered out the incentivized reviews and we got a bit of a different picture. Promotions are no longer a key driver for success but rather design which speaks to consumers’ comments about the cute illustrations. The “Ease of Use” and “Child Comfort” category get bumped up in importance as well.

Brands that made the grade

So which brands came out on top? The top three brands are Pampers Splashers Swim Diapers, Hello Bello Swim Dipes, and Huggies Little Swimmers. Below list is looking at organic and incentivized reviews.

When we look at organic reviews only we see the Hell Bello Dipes don’t make the list.

Conclusion

We recently shared a blog post about the different types of reviews out there and how they can impact the story your data tells. Consider for a moment that the data has already been cleansed and deduped for syndicated reviews by Revuze’s AI. The water diaper truly highlights how a high percentage of incentivized consumer reviews can influence the data. We saw this in a couple of ways: first key drivers and second best products. As you look at your own data, always keep in mind the review sample and how the relationship between organic and incentivized reviews may impact your conclusions about consumer behavior.

Florence Broder