Overview

Amazon will stop sharing customer reviews across product variations that differ in function or user experience beginning February 12, 2026, with the rollout completing by March 31, 2026. The change means each child ASIN will only show reviews that directly relate to its specific attributes, affecting star ratings, review totals, and conversion rates for sellers who currently rely on pooled reviews. Sellers must adjust variation setups and plan for independent review generation to protect their listings.

Key Points

• Functional differences end review sharing — Variations that change form, function, or performance (e.g., chocolate vs. vanilla protein powder) will display only their own reviews.
• Cosmetic changes still pool — Color, pattern, or pack‑size differences continue to share reviews across the family.
• Staggered rollout — Amazon will enable the new rule gradually from February 12 to March 31, 2026, with a 30‑day advance email notice for each affected product line.
• Rating volatility expected — Individual child ASINs may see sudden shifts in star rating and review count once shared reviews are removed.
• Correcting variation themes restores sharing — Fixing mis‑assigned variation themes after the rollout can automatically re‑enable review pooling for eligible items.

How the New Review Policy Works

1. Identify functional variations — Amazon scans each variation family for attributes that alter the product’s purpose.
   Example: A yoga mat listed in 6‑ft and 8‑ft lengths will be treated as two separate review groups because the size change affects user experience.

2. Separate review streams — For identified functional differences, Amazon isolates the review database so that only reviews written for a specific child ASIN appear on its detail page.
   Example: A vanilla‑flavored whey protein ASIN will no longer show a five‑star review left for the chocolate‑flavored version.

3. — Variations that differ solely in visual or packaging details keep the existing pooled review system.