# 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.