In case you haven’t heard, reviews are all the rage.
Whether it’s finding a hotel, a place to eat dinner, choosing your next television, or software for your company, reviews hold power
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20 online review stats to know in 2019
In 2019, you can’t afford to ignore online reviews. From restaurants to computer software, consumers flock to online review sites like Yelp, Google Maps, and TripAdvisor to give them advice. In fact, online reviews influence the purchase decisions for
93% of consumers.
Online reviews create social proof, increase consumer trust, and they give you a direct line to consumers. If you’re not already working to
improve your online reviews, you can start now by educating your customers on the importance of leaving reviews, optimizing your listings on each platform, and providing excellent customer service.
By now you should be convinced that your company must pay attention to online reviews, but just in case you’re not, below are 20 online review stats to fuel your business for 2019.
General Online Review Stats
- 97% of people read reviews for local businesses. (BIA/Kelsey)
- 90% of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews. (Dimensional Research)
- 91% of 18-34 year olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (BrightLocal)
- 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions. (Podium)
- 89% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews. (BrightLocal)
- 93% of people who use mobile to research go on to complete a purchase of a product or service. Most purchases happen in physical stores. (Google/Nielson)
- 3.3 is the minimum star rating of a business consumers would engage with. (Podium)
- 68% of consumers will leave a review if asked. (BrightLocal)
The Value of Positive Reviews
- A one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue. (Harvard Business School)
- Customers are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. (Invesp)
- 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (G2.com)
The Cost of Negative Reviews
- 94% say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business. (ReviewTrackers)
- Only 13% of consumers will consider using a business that has a 1 or 2 star rating. (SearchEngineLand)
- Four out of five consumers have changed their minds about a recommended purchase after reading negative online reviews. (Cone Communications)
- Businesses risk losing as many as 22% of customers when just one negative article is found by users considering buying their product. If three negative articles pop up in a search query, the potential for lost customers increases to 59.2%. (Moz)
Industry-Specific Stats
- A half-star rating increase translates into a 19 percent greater likelihood that a restaurant’s seats will be full during peak dining times. (UC Berkeley)
- 64% of software buyers want to read at least 6 reviews before purchasing. (Capterra)
- 82% of consumers read a product review before purchasing an item online. (Qualtrics)
Online Reputation and Recruiting
- A bad reputation costs a company at least 10% more per hire. (Harvard Business Review)
- 70 percent of employers use social media to screen candidates during the hiring process. (CareerBuilder)
Customers are reading reviews
- Nearly 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- 94% of customers read online reviews (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- 93% of local consumers use reviews to determine if a local business is good or bad (BrightLocal, 2017)
- 72% of customers don't take action until they have read reviews (Testimonial Engine)
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The impact of online reviews on sales
- 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (G2 Crowd and Heinz Marketing, 2017)
- Displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270% (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- Having five reviews results in purchase likelihood increasing by a factor of almost four times (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- Displaying reviews for higher-priced products can increase conversion rates by 380% (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- Purchase likelihood improves 15% when buyers read verified buyer reviews over anonymous reviews (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- One-to-one peer recommendations, original research, and product reviews are the most influential content in affecting purchase decisions (Content Marketing Institute and SmartBrief, 2017)
- A one star increase on Yelp can lead to a 5-9% increase in business revenue (Harvard Business School, Michael Luca, 2016)
- 97% of shoppers say reviews influence buying decisions (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- 68% of Americans report positive reviews making them more likely to use a business (BrightLocal, 2017)
- Given two products with similar ratings, consumers are more likely to buy the product with more reviews (Psychological Science, 2017)
- Reviews produce an 18% uplift in sales (Revoo, as shared by Econsultancy)
- Reviews make 71% of customers more comfortable purchasing a product (3D Cart)
- 88% of buyers are influenced in their buying decision by reviews (Zendesk)
- Customers spend 31% more when a business has positive reviews (Broadly)
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Consumer engagement with reviews
- 73% of customers value the written review over the overall star rating (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- 68% of consumers look for either information on the reviewer’s experience, or problems the reviewer experienced when reading reviews (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- Only 3% of buyers say that reviews never factor into their buying decisions (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- Only 13% of shoppers find the seller’s website to be the most helpful when buying consumer goods, and 17% when purchasing services (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- 60% of people read online reviews for a local restaurant or cafe (BrightLocal, 2017)
- 73% of consumers trust a local business more after reading positive reviews (BrightLocal, 2017)
- 87% of American-based consumers need a business to have a minimum star rating of three or higher (out of five) to use it (BrightLocal, 2017)
- 54% of consumers visit a local business’s website after reading a positive review (BrightLocal, 2017)
- 71% of B2B buyers look at reviews during the consideration stage (G2 Crowd and Heinz Marketing, 2017)
- 67% of B2B buyers rank peer reviews as very important when making a purchase decision (Demand Gen Report, 2017)
- In 2018, 40% of consumers would only take into account local reviews written within the past two weeks. (BrightLocal, 2018).
- 82% of buyers consider user-generated reviews to be extremely valuable (3D Cart)
- 67% of B2B buyers want to see a mix of positive and negative reviews (G2 Crowd and Heinz Marketing, 2017)
- 85% of buyers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations (BrightLocal, 2017)
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The importance of replying to customer reviews
- 53% of customers expect businesses to reply to their online reviews within seven days (Review Trackers, 2018)
- 41% of consumers say that brands replying to reviews makes them believe the company really cares about their customers (Bazaarvoice)
- Not replying to reviews risks increasing customer churn by up to 15% (Chatmeter, 2017)
- 89% of consumers read the replies to reviews (BrightLocal, 2018)
- 7 out of 10 consumers changed their opinion about a brand after the company replied to a review (Bazaarvoice via Marketing Charts, 2013)
- 16% of participants in a 2016 study expect businesses to reply to negative reviews in 1-3 hours (Get Five Stars, 2016)
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Negative reviews can work in your favor
- 72% of B2B buyers say negative reviews give depth and insight into a product (G2 Crowd and Heinz Marketing, 2017)
- 40% of B2B buyers say negative reviews help build credibility for a product (G2 Crowd and Heinz Marketing, 2017)
- 82% of shoppers specifically seek out negative reviews (Power Reviews, 2017)
- Consumers spend four times as long interacting with negative reviews, with a 67% increase in conversion rate (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- 92% of consumers have difficulties or hesitations purchasing an item with no reviews (Fan and Fuel, 2016)
- 95% of consumers get suspicious of fake reviews if there are no bad scores (Revoo, 2013)
- The likelihood of purchase peaks at a star rating of 4.0 – 4.7, then decreases as the rating gets closer to 5.0. (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- 68% of customers trust reviews more when they see a mix of good and bad reviews (Broadly)
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The process of getting customer reviews
- 68% of consumers have left a review for a local business after being asked to do so (BrightLocal, 2017)
- Up to 80% of reviews originate from follow-up emails urging shoppers to review their purchases (Power Reviews, 2017)
- Consumers with negative experiences are more likely to write a review than those who had a positive experience (Street Fight and Toluma, 2012)
- Brands can expect their average star rating to increase after emailing buyers a direct link to submit reviews (Spiegel Research Center, 2017)
- 80% of consumers aged 18-34 have written online reviews. Alternatively, 41% of consumers over 55 have written a review. (BrightLocal, 2018)
- 7 out of 10 customers will leave a review when asked to do so (Broadly)
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The need for reviews and user-generated content
- 84% of people trust reviews they read online as much as personal recommendations (Bright Local, 2017)
- Only 34% of B2B Buyers are willing to consider vendor-related content as trustworthy (Demand Gen Report, 2017)
- 83% of people think a business with a user-generated review on their landing page is trustworthy (BrightLocal, 2017)
- 76% of consumers are more likely to trust content shared by their peers rather than content shared by brands (AdWeek, 2017)
- 81% of buyers generally conduct research before bringing in a vendor (Content Marketing Institute and SmartBrief, 2017)
- 66% of buyers use sources outside of vendor materials during the research phase (Content Marketing Institute and SmartBrief, 2017)
- Irrelevant content is the number one reason buyers don’t engage with vendors more frequently (Marketo, 2017)
- Reputation makes up over 25% of a brand’s market value (Deloitte, 2012)
- User-generated content is trusted by millennials 50% more than traditional media (Crowdtap via VPDM, 2014)
- Experts believe that online reviews make up over 13% of how Google and other search engines rank local search results (Chatmeter, 2017)
- 78% of customers who read reviews were satisfied with their purchase (Broadly)
Throughout all of the statistics, one fact remains clear: customer reviews matter.
We are living in a new world when it comes to purchase decisions; the buying process has changed, for both B2B and B2C buyers.
Regardless of if you already utilize reviews, or you're just getting started with a review strategy, you want recent reviews. (And as many of them as possible!)
TOP 25 ONLINE REVIEW STATISTICS FOR 2019
- 6 out of 10 customers now look to Google My Businessfor reviews on a local business
- Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers read reviews for local businesses before making a purchase
- Prospective customers will read an average of 10 online reviews before they feel they can trust a local business
- Half of all prospective customers will visit a business's website after reading positive online reviews
- 49 percent of consumers value the quantity of online reviews a business has - up from 46 percent in 2017 and 35 percent in 2016
- 57 percent of prospective customers expect a local business to have more than 11 online reviews (up from 51 percent in 2017)
- The average local business has 39 Google reviews
- Prospective customers want to see an average of 40 online reviews before they'll believe a business's star rating (up from 34 in 2017.)
- Local businesses that show up top of the local SEO pack have 47 or more Google reviews
- The average star rating for a local business is 4.42 stars on Google My Business
- Only 5 percent of local businesses on Google My Business have a star rating lower than 3 stars
- 13 percent of consumers will contact a business after reading positive online reviews
- 40 percent of consumers will only look at online reviews written within the past 2 weeks (as compared to 18 percent the prior year)
- 57 percent of prospective customers will only consider a business if it has 4 or more stars
- Half of all 18 - 34 year old consumers will always read online reviews before considering a local business
- Only 5 percent of 18 - 34 year old consumers never read online reviews
- 80 percent of 18 - 34 year old consumers have written online reviews for a local business
- 91 percent of 18 - 34 year old consumers trust online reviews as much as a recommendation from a friend or family member
- 75 percent of 35 - 54 year old consumers read reviews on mobile browsers
- 61 percent of consumers over 55 years old want businesses to have 4 or more stars
- 78 percent of consumers over 55 years old read online reviews on PCs or Macs
- Nearly 7 out of 10 consumers are more likely to consider a business with positive online reviews
- 40 percent of prospective customers will not consider a business with negative online reviews
- 89 percent of prospective customers read the business owner's response to online reviews
- Over half of all consumers expect businesses to respond to negative online reviews within 7 days, but 63 percent say that a business has never responded to their review. Www.rannko.com/ronlaker