Originally published July 9, 2023. Updated November 5, 2026.
Reviews used to be a tiebreaker. In 2026 they are the filter. Buyers set a minimum star rating, check how recent your reviews are, and watch how you reply before they ever call.
Almost every number below comes from BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey of 1,002 US adults, the biggest yearly study on local reviews. Each stat links to the source.
The short answer
97% of consumers read online reviews, 68% will only use a business with 4 stars or more, and 74% only trust reviews from the last three months. Replying matters: 80% are more likely to use a business that responds to every review, and 32% now expect a reply by the next day.
- 31% need 4.5 stars, up from 17% a year ago
- 47% will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews
- 83% of people who were asked for a review wrote one
Updated November 2026. New numbers up top. Older stats live in the historical section below, unchanged, so existing links and citations still work.
2026 online review statistics: the key numbers
Who reads reviews and where
- 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. 41% always do, up from 29% in 2025. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 71% use Google to read reviews, down from 83% in 2025. Apple Maps jumped to 27% from 14%. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 45% now use ChatGPT or other AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6%. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 82% read AI generated review summaries, and 23% would rely on the summary alone. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 6 review sites is the average number a consumer uses. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
Star ratings and review count
- 92% of consumers care about star ratings. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 68% will only use a business rated 4 stars or higher, up from 55%. 31% need 4.5 or higher, up from 17%. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 10% will only use a business with a perfect 5 star rating. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 47% say fewer than 20 reviews is a dealbreaker. Only 9% will use a business with five or fewer. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
Recency and what makes a review trustworthy
- 74% only trust reviews written in the last three months. 32% want them from the last two weeks, and 18% from the last week. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 56% look for consistent sentiment across reviews, the top trust factor. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 44% look for reviews posted in the last month, and 37% look for an owner reply. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 36% trust reviews more when they include a photo or video. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
Responding to reviews
- 89% of consumers expect businesses to respond to reviews. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 80% are more likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews. 42% are unlikely to use one that never responds. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 50% are put off by templated or generic replies. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 19% expect a reply the same day, up from 6% in 2025. 32% expect one by the next day, and 81% within a week. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
What reviews make people do
- 85% are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews. 77% are deterred by negative ones. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 93% have made a purchase after reading reviews, and 27% have spent over $1,000 based on them. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 54% visit the business website after reading positive reviews, up from 32% in 2019. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 34% are ready to buy or book right after reading positive reviews. 66% do more research first. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
Asking for reviews
- 78% of consumers were asked to leave a review in the past year, and 83% of those went on to write one. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 28% will always write a review if asked, up from 16% in 2025. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 94% are open to writing reviews, and 69% wrote at least one in the past 12 months. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
- 97% think businesses caught posting fake reviews should be punished. 57% say they should be banned from review platforms. (BrightLocal LCRS, 2026)
What these numbers mean for contractors
For home service companies, reviews decide who gets the call before you ever talk to the homeowner. Here is what we tell our clients:
- Ask on every job. 83% of people who get asked leave a review. Build the ask into job completion with a text and a direct link, not a quarterly email blast.
- Recency is the new star rating. Three quarters of buyers ignore reviews older than three months. A steady trickle beats a big push once a year.
- Get above 4.5 and 20 reviews. Those are the two lines buyers filter on. Below them you are invisible to a big chunk of the market.
- Reply fast and in your own voice. A third of buyers expect a reply by the next day, and half are turned off by canned responses.
- Never buy or gate reviews. 97% want fake reviewers punished, and the platforms agree.
Reviews also feed the AI answers. ChatGPT and Google’s AI summaries pull from them, and 82% of consumers read those summaries.
- Leads from Google, Maps and AI search
- Nobody else is buying the same lead
- You own your website and ad accounts
“Hook Agency has been an incredible partner for our digital marketing growth.”
Kristin Sullivan, Bob’s ACFocused on the map? See Google Maps SEO
Historical online review statistics (2024 edition)
The stats below are from our 2024 edition. We kept them because many sites link here for them. Several are from older surveys, so check the original date before you cite one.
Bad reviews could destroy your business in 2024.
People actually care about them. Who would have thought?
A staggering 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business, and an even more surprising 88% of consumers trust these reviews as much as they do personal recommendations. This new age word-of-mouth marketing method has the power to either skyrocket your business or hold it from reaching its potential.
But how else do online reviews impact customer behavior and business performance? What is the significance of star ratings? How important is it for businesses to respond to both positive and negative feedback? To give you a comprehensive understanding, we’ve curated 41 compelling statistics about online reviews that every business owner, marketer, or customer service representative should know. These figures reveal the weight of online reviews in the current marketplace and underscore their growing importance in shaping business outcomes.
So, whether you’re a small business trying to make your mark, a large corporation seeking to maintain its reputation, or a keen consumer interested in the interplay between reviews and purchasing behaviors, these statistics will provide you invaluable insights. Join us as we delve into the intricate world of online reviews and explore their immense influence in today’s business landscape.
41 Statistics About Online Reviews for 2024
- 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business.
- 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- 86% of consumers hesitate to purchase from businesses that have negative online reviews.
- 74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more.
- Customers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews.
- 72% of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review.
- 92% of users will use a local business if it has at least a 4-star rating.
- 72% of consumers say that responding to reviews shows that a company cares about its customers.
- A negative review can drive away approximately 94% of customers.
- 80% of consumers believe that businesses care more about them if they see management responding to reviews.
- Reviews that are answered generate 12% more revenue.
- 52% of customers expect a response within 7 days to their online review.
- 53% of customers expect businesses to reply to negative reviews within a week.
- 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews.
- The average consumer reads 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a business.
- Each star in a rating can lead to a 5-9% effect on the business’s revenue.
- 68% of consumers look for either the quantity or quality of reviews when forming an opinion about a local business.
- Businesses risk losing as many as 22% of customers when just one negative article is found by users.
- 64% of consumers say they are likely to check online reviews on Google before visiting a business, more than any other review site.
- Nearly 60% of consumers look at online reviews at least weekly.
- Three negative reviews can lead to a decrease in sales by up to 59%.
- Customers could potentially pay up to 31% more for a business with excellent reviews.
- About 57% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars.
- Yelp and Facebook are the second and third most trusted review sites, after Google.
- 40% of consumers form an opinion by reading just 1-3 reviews.
- Mobile apps with ratings below three stars in the app store are likely to be downloaded less frequently.
- 91% of millennials trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Approximately 50% of customers often or always check reviews, but rarely write them.
- Over 50% of people say they would never use a company with less than a 4-star rating.
- Positive reviews can improve the click-through rates of businesses by up to 25%.
- Online review responses can increase customer advocacy by 16%.
- Almost 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase.
- It takes around 40 positive customer experiences to undo the damage of a single negative review.
- 54% of people visit a website after reading positive reviews.
- Over 70% of consumers will leave a review for a business if they’re asked.
- 65% of consumers see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies.
- More than 20% of consumers believe that reviews older than 2 weeks are irrelevant.
- 88% of consumers form an opinion by reading up to 10 reviews.
- 30% of consumers assume online reviews are fake if there are no negative ones.
- A one-star increase on Yelp can lead to a 5-9% increase in revenue.
- Approximately 80% of people have changed their minds about a purchase based solely on the negative information they found online
As we conclude this insightful journey through the world of online reviews, it’s clear that they hold an undeniably powerful sway over the business landscape. From shaping consumer purchasing decisions to impacting a company’s reputation, online reviews are a force to be reckoned with.
The 41 statistics we’ve explored today underline the immense influence reviews exert in our increasingly digital marketplace. They have highlighted the urgency for businesses to take an active role in not only monitoring their online reviews but also in responding to them – both the positive and the negative.
Every star counts – embrace transparency in 2024
Remember, every star in your rating counts, every customer’s voice matters, and every response can make a difference. Whether you are a marketer seeking ways to enhance your brand’s image or a consumer attempting to make an informed purchasing decision, the power of online reviews is undeniable.
In the end, the key takeaway is this: Embrace the transparency of the digital age. Be proactive in managing your online reputation. Prioritize customer satisfaction and remember that in the realm of online reviews, every customer interaction is an opportunity to show the world the best your business has to offer. Harness the power of online reviews and let them be the stepping stones to your business success.
How to cite this page
Hook Agency, “Online Review Statistics (2026),” hookagency.com/blog/online-reviews-statistics/, updated November 2026. For any single number, please cite the original source linked next to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of consumers read online reviews?
97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and 41% always read them before choosing (BrightLocal, 2026).
What star rating do customers expect?
68% of consumers will only use a business rated 4 stars or higher, and 31% require 4.5 stars or higher (BrightLocal, 2026).
How recent do reviews need to be?
74% of consumers only trust reviews from the last three months, and 32% want reviews from the last two weeks.
Should businesses respond to reviews?
Yes. 89% of consumers expect a response, 80% are more likely to use a business that responds to all reviews, and 32% expect a reply by the next day.
How many reviews does a business need?
At least 20. 47% of consumers say fewer than 20 reviews is a dealbreaker.
