In case you haven’t heard, reviews are all the rage.
Whether you’re looking for a restaurant for date night or buying a new software solution for your business, the opinion of those who have already made that decision matters. What did they like? What did they dislike? Would they make the same choice if they could do it all over again?
There is power in customer reviews, for both the consumer and the business. For the consumer, they get insights from previous buyers that can confirm or deny their positive and negative feelings towards a product. As for the business, positive reviews act as a form of advocacy and negative reviews provide feedback on what they can do to improve.
Customer review statistics
Still not convinced? We’ve collected 51 statistics that prove the value, power, and impact of customer reviews.
Proof customers read reviews
- About 95% of customers read reviews before making a purchase. (Powerreviews)
- 93% of customers will read reviews of local businesses to determine its quality. (BrightLocal)
- 72% of customers won’t take any buying actions until they’ve read reviews. (Testimonial Engine)
Impact of online reviews on sales
4. 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (G2 and Heinz Marketing)
5. For every one star increase that a business gets on Yelp, they see a 5-9% increase in revenue. (Harvard Business Review)
6. When a product gets five reviews, the likelihood of it being purchased increases by 270%. (Spiegel)
7. When higher-priced items display reviews, the conversion rate increases by 380%. (Spiegel)
8. If a business has more than nine current reviews, they earn 52% more revenue than the average. If a business has more than 25 current reviews, that increases to 108%. (Womply)
9. Businesses that claim their free listings on at least four review sites earn an average of 46% more revenue. (Womply)
10. Purchase likelihood increases by 15% when buyers read verified reviews over anonymous reviews. (Spiegel)
11. Given two products with similar ratings, consumers are more likely to buy the product with more reviews. (Psychological Science)
12. Reviews make customers 71% more comfortable purchasing a product. (3D Cart)
13. Customers spend 31% more when a business has positive reviews. (Broadly)
Customer review engagement
14. 91% of customers from the ages of 18 to 34 trust online reviews just as much as personal recommendations. (BrightLocal)
15. 92% of customers trust peer recommendations. (Search Engine Watch)
16. Customers require a business to have at least 40 online reviews before they believe its average star rating. (BrightLocal)
17. 73% of customers place more value on the written review, rather than the star rating. (Fan and Fuel)
18. About 85% of consumers consider any review older than three months to be irrelevant. (BrightLocal)
19. Reviews account for about 15% of the method Google uses to rank local businesses. (Moz)
20. About 50% of consumers need to see at least a 4-star rating to consider a business. (Blumenthals)
21. 54% of consumers visit a local business’ website after reading a positive review. (BrightLocal)
22. 67% of B2B buyers want to see a mix of both positive and negative reviews when checking out a business. (G2 and Heinz Marketing)
Importance of replying to customer reviews
23. 75% of businesses don’t even respond to their reviews. (Womply)
24. Businesses that respond to just one customer review earn 4% more revenue on average. (Womply)
25. When a business replies to at least 25% of their online customer reviews, on average, they earn 35% more revenue. (Womply)
26. To out-do your competitors, you need to respond to at least 30% of your reviews. (Uberall)
27. People spend around 49% more money at businesses that respond to their customer reviews. (Womply)
28. 53% of customers expect a business to reply to their online review within seven days. (ReviewTrackers)
29. 41% of customers say that when brands reply to their online reviews, it makes them feel the company really cares about their customers. (Bazaarvoice)
30. Not replying to customer reviews puts companies at risk of increasing churn by 15%. (Chatmeter)
31. 89% of consumers read replies to reviews. (BrightLocal)
32. Seven out of 10 consumers changed their opinion about a brand after the company replied to a review. (Marketing Charts)
Power of negative reviews
33. On average, 19% of reviews a business receives are negative. (Womply)
34. 82% of customers actively seek out negative reviews. (PowerofReviews)
35. Negative reviews can stop an average of 40% of buyers from wanting to buy from a business. (BrightLocal)
36. When customers interact with negative reviews, they spend five times as long on a business’ website. (Reevoo)
37. Businesses whose total number of reviews are 15-20% negative actually average 13% more revenue than businesses whose total number of reviews are 5-10% negative. (Womply)
38. 72% of B2B buyers say negative reviews give depth and insight into a product. (G2 and Heinz Marketing)
39. 40% of B2B buyers say negative reviews help build credibility for a product. (G2 and Heinz Marketing)
40. 95% of customers get suspicious of a rating if there are no negative reviews. (Reevoo)
41. The likelihood of purchase peaks at a star rating of 4.0 to 4.7, then decreases as the rating gets closer to 5.0. (Spiegel)
How to get reviews
42. About 75% of customers are willing to answer anywhere from one to five survey questions. (GatherUp)
43. 68% of consumers have left a review for a local business after being asked to do so. (BrightLocal)
44. Up to 80% of reviews originate from follow-up emails urging shoppers to review their purchases. (Spiegel)
45. Brands can expect their average star rating to increase after emailing buyers a direct link to submit reviews. (Spiegel)
Reviews and user-generated content
46. 83% of people think a business with a user-generated review on their landing page is trustworthy. (BrightLocal)
47. 76% of consumers are more likely to trust content shared by their peers rather than content shared by brands. (AdWeek)
48. 66% of buyers use sources outside of vendor materials during the research phase. (CMI and SmartBrief)
49. Irrelevant content is the number one reason buyers don’t engage with vendors more frequently. (Marketo)
50. Reputation makes up over 25% of a brand’s market value. (Deloitte)
51. 78% of customers who read reviews were satisfied with their purchase. (Broadly)
The results are in
The statistics speak for themselves. Reviews matter, and your company could be missing out on some seriously valuable business opportunities if you aren’t using them correctly. Don’t make the mistake of leaving your reviews in the dark. Start using customer reviews to your advantage now.
Review sites like G2 take most of the work out of displaying your customer reviews. All you have to do is claim your profile.
by Mara Calvello
by Amy Lecza
