Consumer Reviews and Their Impact

Well from the study, 75% of consumers ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ read online reviews (stable over the last three years). This is definitive. Reviews are very important.

• 91% of consumers say local branch reviews impact their overall perceptions of big brands.

We know it is important for branches to have strong reviews but what is interesting is the percentage of consumers that feel it impacts the brand. For 9 out of 10 consumers to feel this way, this could be the most important and surprising statistic in the whole survey. 

Across the board, local branches need to be in line. One branch could be letting down the brand and with that the brand reputation.

• 50% of consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.

There is still so much trust in reviews – Does your Local business receive word-of-mouth referrals? If a review is as good as a recommendation from friends and family it’s crucial (I can’t stress that enough) to your business.

While we didn’t feel this was the top finding it’s more than enough evidence to show real trust in reviews.

• 71% of consumers would not consider using a business with an average rating below three stars.

This isn’t surprising, we all want to know we are making a good decision when choosing who to employ for a particular job, where to eat, and what attractions to see.

If your business falls into this category you need to get some more reviews to lift your average rating ASAP.

• 88% of consumers would use a business that replies to all of its reviews, compared to 47% who would use a business that doesn’t respond.

Responding to reviews is a large part of what we do at Digital Influence to keep your customers feeling seen and heard. This statistic is proof it’s an important part of business today.

From the review survey, we also see that 88% of consumers would use a business that responds to positive and negative reviews.

While we all love to respond to great feedback and everyone gets a warm and positive feeling, sometimes there might have been something out of your control that doesn’t quite work as intended.

We are human, everyone has a bad day and sometimes it can be just as good for your business if you show the person that you genuinely care about their experience and want to put it right.

It’s important to be helpful. We have seen people update their 1-star reviews to a higher rating due to the extra effort to remedy the situation.

• People expect a response with 93% of consumers expecting a business to respond to their reviews.

It is clear, people want to have their reviews…. reviewed and replied to. If you need help, we can walk you through the quickest and most efficient ways to get to your reviews.

The expectation from the study is just over a third of consumers expect a response to their reviews within two to three days. This is a call to respond to reviews at least weekly for businesses.

Below is a nice 5-star review that gives info on the service experience and some feedback to the business. You can’t ask for more. Why not use an emoji in your reply?

• 77% of consumers use at least two review sites when deciding to use local businesses.

This is certainly a high percentage so you need to be aware of the other places your customers are looking at reviews.

Google has the most mindshare when we think of reviews and the Google Business Profile is a must but where else should we monitor our reviews?

• 41% of consumers use three or more review platforms.

The study found that Google remains the most-used website for reading online reviews (81%), followed by Facebook (24%) and Yelp (22%).

Yelp has a larger US audience than New Zealand so we recommend Trip Advisor as a focus instead, especially for hospitality businesses.

• • 34% of consumers use Instagram, and 23% use TikTok as alternative local business review platforms.

  In 2024 the review survey found consumers are using Instagram and TikTok for business reviews more, with an increase of 2% and 3%, respectively.

  Users may create posts or stories to share their experience at your business. This could include photos or videos of products, services, or the overall ambience. They could tag the business in their post or use relevant hashtags to increase visibility.

  There is the potential for a lot of people to see these posts – Positive or negative reviews on these platforms can gain a lot of eyeballs. Be aware of the overall sentiment your business has and reach out to the customer about their experience.

• 59% of consumers expect a business to have between 20-99 reviews to trust the average star rating.

20 reviews for some businesses may seem like a high bar but there are things that you can do to help. Add links to your email signature, QR codes at the business or Follow-up emails offering customers to review.

Here is a great email template:

—

“Hi [customer name],

We value each and every one of our customers and are always trying to improve to bring our customers the best possible experience.

Would you be kind enough to leave us a Google review? It only takes a few minutes, and it helps us a lot!

Just click the button below to go to our Google Business page and leave us some feedback.

[add a button that stands out]

Kind Regards,

[Business Name]

—

Great, so once I have lots of reviews I’m done collecting them right?…. Wrong.

27% of consumers expect business reviews as fresh as two weeks.

Not only do you need to have some great reviews but this is not a one-and-done exercise as customers expect to see up-to-date reviews to give them peace of mind that the service or products are still at the high standard of the previous reviews.

Consumers are checking multiple sources, including non-traditional platforms, for business reviews and recommendations so it’s important to have strong reviews across multiple platforms.

Businesses must be strategic with their review requests, considering timeliness and providing customers with choices.

Consumers expect businesses to have fresh reviews and between 20-99 reviews for them to trust the star rating.

Exceptional customer experiences are crucial for encouraging organic, positive reviews. Local brand experiences contribute significantly to overall brand perception.

For more statistics and commentary check out the full review survey.

At Digital Influence, we help lots of businesses with their local SEO. Get in touch with the team if you need some help with yours.

The Local Consumer Review Survey 2024 was conducted using a representative panel of 1,141 US consumers via SurveyMonkey.

Even though the survey was conducted in the United States, the data gives us important insights into the current perception and overall trust of reviews across multiple providers/platforms.