Local Consumer Review Survey 2023

Key Findings

• 76% of consumers “regularly” read online reviews when browsing for local businesses, compared to 77% in 2021.
• The number of consumers reading online reviews “every day” fell from 34% in 2021 to 21% in 2022.
• 87% of consumers used Google to evaluate local businesses in 2022, up from 81% in 2021.
• The top industries where consumers see business reviews as most important are: Healthcare, Automotive Services, and Service Businesses/Tradespeople.
• 42% of consumers are confident they’ve seen fake reviews on Facebook in 2022, compared to 37% in 2021.
• Google is the most trusted review platform across all industries.
• 26% of consumers were asked to leave a business review in exchange for a discount in 2022, up from 15% in 2021.

How are consumers using business reviews?

How often are consumers researching businesses online?

• 98% of consumers used the internet to find information about local businesses in 2022, up from 90% in 2019.

How often do consumers read online business reviews?

• 98% of consumers at least “occasionally” read online reviews when researching local businesses.
• 76% of people “always” or “regularly” read online reviews for local businesses.

Where are users looking for business reviews?

• In 2022, 87% of people used Google to research local businesses (up from 81% in 2021).
• Consumer use of Yelp to evaluate local businesses has decreased from 53% in 2021 to 48% in 2022.

What types of reviews are consumers writing?

• 37% of consumers left reviews for local businesses following a positive experience in 2022.
• 95% of consumers left an online review in 2022, or would at least consider leaving one.

What influences consumers to write a positive review?

• 81% of consumers are “likely” or “highly likely” to leave a positive review if they feel the business went above and beyond to ensure an exceptional experience.

How do consumers respond to review requests from businesses?

• 80% of consumers were prompted by local businesses to leave a review in 2022.
• 65% of consumers left reviews in response to requests from a business.

Do business responses to reviews affect consumers’ opinions?

• 88% of consumers are likely to use a business if they can see the business owner responds to all reviews, whether positive or negative.

What matters to consumers about online reviews?

Does the importance of online reviews vary by industry?

• Top industries where business reviews were considered “important” or “very important” included: services and trades, healthcare, and automotive services.

What review factors influence consumer decisions when choosing a local business?

• 69% of consumers would feel positive about using a business with reviews describing a positive experience.
• A high star rating would make 58% of people feel positive about choosing a local business.

How important is the average star rating in 2023?

• 87% of consumers would not consider a business with an average rating below 3 stars.
• 38% of consumers expect a local business to have a minimum average of 4 stars before they would consider using it.

How much do consumers trust online business reviews?

• 46% of consumers feel that online business reviews are as trustworthy as personal recommendations from friends or family.

Does trust in reviews vary by review platform?

• Google is the most trusted review platform across all industries, especially for business information.

What other platforms do consumers use for business information?

• YouTube and local news are the top two channels consumers use to find information about local businesses outside of typical review platforms, with 35% using them respectively.

Where have people seen fake business reviews?

• 54% of consumers are confident that they saw fake reviews on Amazon in 2022.
• 50% of consumers saw fake reviews on Google in 2022.
• 42% of consumers said they’d seen fake reviews on Facebook in 2022.

Does review incentivization still take place?

• 12% of consumers recalled being offered cash in exchange for business reviews in 2022.

Summary

Apart from a few significant trend changes, our comparable results reflect a similar pattern year on year. Email is the most effective way to ask customers to leave a review. It's essential for businesses to actively respond to all types of reviews.