As the Internet becomes ever more present in our lives, the popularity of independent review sites is exploding. Rather than asking friends and family about good places to eat or for a recommended tradesperson, we’re asking the Internet.
As more and more people are looking for subjective views of what to expect from a company, responding appropriately to online reviews – both good and bad – is an important part of any business’ reputation management. It’s undeniable that any company’s review site listings are an important part of their online “storefront”.
As consumers, it’s a great opportunity to get an honest view of a company before we buy; but as business owners, it can be a little nerve-wracking. Many businesses put off listing their company on review outlets fearing a bad response, but trust us – letting your customers leave reviews is a truly valuable practice.
But don’t just take our word for it – check out these 34 statistics that are essential reading for those on the fence about listing their business on review sites like ours, or taking the plunge and implementing product reviews on their ecommerce site.
Trust
84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, compared to 80% in 2015. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
60% say that negative reviews make them not want to use a business. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
Only 14% of consumers would consider using a business with a one or two star rating (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both good and bad scores, and 30% suspect censorship or fake reviews when they don’t see any negative opinions presented. (Source: Reevoo, 2012)
86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business that has negative online reviews. (Source: BrightLocal, 2017)
By a massive 77% to 23% margin, consumer electronics buyers say they put more trust in consumer reviews than reviews from experts (Source: Weber Shandwick, 2014)
66% of consumers would not trust online review sites they’re not familiar with. (Source: Podium, 2017)
73% of consumers are more likely to choose a business that has online reviews compared to a business that has none. (Source: Critical Research 2017)
Relevance
73% of consumers think that reviews older than 3 months aren’t relevant any more. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
22% of consumers will only consider reviews written in the last 2 weeks. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
58% of consumers pay the most attention to overall star rating. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
93% of consumers say online reviews have an impact on their purchasing decisions. (Source: Podium, 2017)
Consumer Research
90% of consumers read 10 reviews or fewer before they feel they can trust a business. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
Only 5% said they’d never searched for local businesses online. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
53% of consumers search for local businesses at least once a month, compared to 43% in 2015. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
69% of consumers search for a local business at least 6 times per year, compared to 60% in 2015. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
Nearly 60% of consumers look at online reviews at least once a week, and 21% look at online reviews multiple times per week. (Source: Podium, 2017)
BrightLocal found that reviews for businesses in the hospitality sector were the most read by consumers during 2016. Restaurants and cafes were read the most, with hotels/bed & breakfasts coming in second. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
20% of consumers just look at one review site before making a decision about a business. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
59% of consumers look at 2-3 different review sites before they make a decision about a business. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
87% of people say that a business needs a rating of 3-5 stars before they will use them (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
23% of online shoppers are influenced by social media recommendations. (Source: BigCommerce, 2017)
69% of online shoppers want product listings to be enhanced with product reviews. (Source: BigCommerce, 2017)
72% of UK consumers are more likely to do business with a company after reading a positive review online. (Source: Trustpilot/Censuswide Survey, 2016)
Behaviour
50% of consumers reported being asked to leave a review about a business and did so. (Source: BrightLocal, 2016)
BrightLocal reports that PCs were the most popular way of reading reviews in 2016 (78%), but Podium found that 59% of consumers asked would most likely use a smartphone or tablet to look up reviews in 2017. (Sources: BrightLocal, 2016 and Podium, 2017)
88% of consumers form an opinion by reading up to 10 reviews, and 73% form an opinion by reading up to 6 reviews (Source: BrightLocal, 2015)
Customers are likely to spend 31% more with a company that has “excellent” reviews. (Original Source Unknown, Published by Invesp, 2015)
When equally priced, consumers are 3.9 times more likely to choose the hotel with a higher rating than ones with lower ratings. (Source: PhocusWright, 2014)
Studies show that products with positive reviews sold 200% more than those with no ratings. (Source: Web Republic, 2015)
A perfect 5 star rating for a product is not necessarily the most desirable. Research shows that 4.2-4.5 is the ideal average star rating for purchase probability. It’s hypothesized that this is because a perfect 5 product is considered “too good to be true”. (Source: PowerReviews & Northwestern University)
68% of consumers are willing to pay up to 15% more for the same product or service if they’re assured they’ll have a better experience. (Source: Podium, 2017)
77% would be willing to leave an online review if asked. (Source: Podium, 2017)
References
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2016
Bad reviews improve conversion by 67% from Econsultancy
The Impact of Online Reviews on Businesses from BrightLocal
The Importance Of Online Customer Reviews [Infographic] from Invesp
Top 10 Stats About The Power Of Consumer Online Reviews from Zuberance
Podium’s 2017 State of Online Reviews Study
Yell.com Ratings & Reviews Brochure
Omni-Channel Retail in 2017: What Brands Need to Know and Modern Consumer Shopping Habits from BigCommerce
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2015
Everything You Need To Know About Online Reviews [Infographic] by WebRepublic
How Star Ratings and Review Content Influence Purchase from PowerReviews & Northwestern University
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Did any of these stats surprise you? Do you know of any we’ve missed that are worth sharing with the world? Please share your thoughts down in the comments!
