Online Reviews Statistics & Trends

Online Reviews Statistics & Trends

What Every Business Needs to Know 

Customers trust customers, while even the smallest failure from the brand can lead to a switch to competitors. That is why online reviews could be crucial when influencing customer behavior. You can perform reputation management both manually and automatically with the help of reputation management software. 

Not only do reviews affect direct decision-making, but they also influence Search Engine Optimization, and what is extremely important in 2026 - Answer Engine Optimization. We do not only “Google” anymore, we use Grok, ChatGPT, and Perplexity to find the answers, and reviews are one of the ways to get your business into those answers.

Major review platforms include Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, BBB, Yellow Pages, and many more. With a reputation management platform like SeoSamba—available white-labeled for agencies and ideally suited for multi-location businesses like franchises —you can monitor over 100 review sites from a single dashboard. Automated notifications ensure you never miss a piece of feedback from your clients.

Equally important is actively generating positive reviews. While negative feedback often comes unsolicited, you want to encourage satisfied customers to share their experiences. With SeoSamba, you can send review requests via email or SMS through your CRM and respond to reviews efficiently with AI assistance, turning customer feedback into a powerful growth engine.

Additionally, you can use the user-friendly widget to highlight the best 4- or 5-star reviews on the website or manually select the ones you would like to display, and share them on social media with a single click. 

So, what stats do you need to know in 2026 to use the maximum capacity of the power of online reviews? 

Part 1 - How do customers behave and how to get their trust through online reviews? 

1. 98% of consumers read online reviews for small businesses at least occasionally.

Therefore, it makes sense to invest effort and resources in collecting reviews, which is much easier with an automated system within a reputation management system connected to your CRM. 

2. 93% of consumers say that online reviews directly influence their purchasing decisions.

In times when competition is extremely high, businesses simply cannot afford to ignore their brand's reputation.

3. 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.

As it is person-to-person communication, people want to see that behind the brand are not only reliable business and services, but also satisfied customers.

4. 71% of consumers will not choose a business with an average review rating below 3 stars.

So, preventive work, a great support team, and responses to each review can help you to avoid crisis situations. 

5. 73% of consumers only trust reviews that are less than 30 days old.

Establish an ongoing process for collecting fresh reviews to enhance the trustworthiness of your reputation management profile.

6. 70% of consumers need to read at least four reviews before they can trust a business.

It can also help increase your SEO and AEO visibility, as well as get mentioned higher on software platforms due to the high rating.

7. 91% of individuals aged 18-34 (Millennials/Gen Z) trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

In the digital age, personalization is valued as never before, so it can be your competitive advantage.

8. 81% of consumers use Google to read reviews and evaluate local businesses.

That is why Google Business Profile is crucial for sales and marketing, especially for local search.

9. 94% of consumers say a negative review has convinced them to avoid a business altogether.

Customers are not willing to pay and take risks, so maintaining a good reputation is decisive.

10. 82% of shoppers actively look for negative reviews to establish credibility.

Maintain a natural tone of voice in your business's messaging.

11. The most trusted average rating range among consumers is 4.2 to 4.5 stars.

Not too perfect to be falsified, but not lower than 3.5.

12. Customers are willing to spend 31% more money on a business that features excellent reviews.

So, reputation management is a great start to boost your ROI.

13. 41.7% of shoppers prefer third-party review sites over reviews on a retailer's own website.

It just seems non-biased and natural. With a reputation management platform, you gain access to dashboards that cover over 100 review websites.

14. 67% of consumers believe that fake or fraudulent reviews are a major problem.

That is why the ongoing review collection process is so important.

15. Nearly half (49%) of all internet users around the world post at least one online review every month.

So, their review could be featured on your website!

We have found that reviews influence customers' behavior; let’s find out how they affect sales! 

Part 2 - How does reputation management affect sales and business strategy?

16. The purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than the purchase likelihood of a product with no reviews.

That is why event first reviews are crucial.

17. Identifying reviews from “verified buyers” enhances credibility and improves the odds of purchase by 15%.

You can offer your clients a discount or a present for their time invested in leaving a review.

18. Reviews increase the conversion rate of higher-priced products by 380%, compared to 190% for lower-priced products.

An interesting fact is that your higher-priced products or services can be boosted even quicker by reputation management than lower-priced ones. 

19. A company's revenue increases by 5–9% for every star its Yelp rating increases.

A review management platform could be a wise strategic decision to increase sales.

20. Businesses that reply to reviews at least 25% of the time average 35% more revenue than those who don't.

You can make it extremely easily with the AI-suggested answers, which consider your company's tone of voice. 

21. Not replying to reviews risks increasing customer churn by up to 15%.

If you have started investing your time in reputation management, it is essential to close the loop and maintain consistency across all processes.

22. Review signals account for approximately 15% of the Local Pack ranking factors on Google.

As well as Search Engine Optimization and Answer Engine Optimization.

As well as Search Engine Optimization and Answer Engine Optimization.

23. 28% of local searches (like "near me") lead to a purchase within 24 hours.

Because the customers are ready to make a purchase.

24. 42% of individuals who perform a local search click on results from the Google Map Pack.

Pay attention to filling out all fields that could be useful for the customers, and use your offline presence. For example, place a QR code to scan to leave a review. 

25. The top-ranking businesses on Google average approximately 47 reviews on their profiles.

Over time, it is totally possible to reach this number of reviews even for a small business.

26. 66% of consumers stated that many online reviews make them trust a brand online.

When you cannot talk to a salesman or do not want to talk to a chatbot, the feedback of others is a way to get to know the business.

27. 71% of users are more comfortable making a purchase from a business featuring reviews.  The easier the purchasing process, the higher your sales will be.

28. The average local business on Google has approximately 39 reviews.

Customers are looking for a brand they can trust, and achieving long-term loyalty is possible if your services or products are exceptional.

29. 72% of customers won't take any action until they read reviews about your business.

Encourage customers to leave reviews on all available channels, such as social media and your website.

30. Reviews produce an average of 18% uplift in sales.

Therefore, reputation management could be a great channel for lead generation. 

To sum up, customers trust reviews, buy more, and increase our revenue; however, what do we know about the customers' reactions to responses? 

Part 3 - How to respond to reviews and manage the entire reputation brand process? 

31. Businesses increased their review response rates by 15% in 2024, rising to 73% overall.

It signals that more businesses are aware of the importance of reputation management.

32. 89% of consumers are likely to choose a business that replies to all reviews. 

So, that is your chance to shine! 

33. 53% of customers expect a business to respond to negative reviews within one week.

That is why an immediate alert when receiving a review on any platform is important, especially since a lot of services offer to change the review during a limited amount of time.

34. 97% of potential customers read a business’s response to reviews.

A professional response can “fix” even a bad review. 

35. 56% of consumers change their perspective of a business based on how they respond to a review.

Keep it friendly, non-biased, and professional to maintain the company's tone of voice. 

With reputation management platforms like SeoSamba you can send review requests with both emails and SMS.

37. In 2025, 36% of consumers were offered a discount or incentive for leaving a business review. 

A small reward increases the response rate and brings you valuable results. 

38. 67% of dissatisfied customers stay loyal to a brand when you respond quickly.

Sometimes, it can be a misunderstanding that you can easily solve. Set up alerts for your support team. 

39. 80% of consumers were prompted by a local business to leave a review in 2025.

It is quite a common practice to increase a brand's online visibility. 

40. Manual (personalized) responses increased to 61% in 2024, while automated responses declined.

If you can invest time in personalized responses, it will be even more valuable for the clients, but the most important thing is not to leave the responses without an answer at all. 

Part 4 - What do you need to know about specific platform stats? 

41. Google's share of total reviews across platforms climbed from 79% to 81% in 2024, solidifying its lead. 

Start with the most popular platforms, such as Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, BBB, and Yellow Pages. 

42. Collectively, Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor are home to a staggering 88% of all online reviews

Each platform has its own specification, so it is recommended to research in advance.

43. Yelp had over 80 million visitors each month in 2023.

Review websites can also be a great way to lead traffic to your website. 

44. The word count of online reviews has dropped by 65% in the last decade, averaging around 200 words or less.

The concise review could still be beneficial and influence the clients' decision-making process. 

45. Finance and Healthcare are industries that favor automation in review responses (65% and 52% respectively).

But reviews are crucial for each industry. 

46. Reviews with detailed comments increased from 79% to 81% in 2024, showing a higher quality of feedback.

To achieve those reviews, it is essential to provide customers with an incentive or choose the right time to request a review. 

47. Hotels are outliers, averaging around 309 reviews, much higher than the typical local business average of 39. 

In some areas, leaving reviews is more common than in others, but you can always get creative to create a marketing campaign to gather reviews. 

48. Users reading reviews on a mobile device are 127% more likely to make a purchase than desktop users.

So, it is important to make your content channels mobile-friendly. 

49. 43% of consumers used local news as a source for reviews/information on local businesses in 2024. 

You can utilize additional information resources, such as websites and social media, to increase traffic. 

50. 72% of consumers use voice search to find details on local businesses.

Make your online presence optimized for the different kinds of search to appear in results. 

Part 5 - How does AI change review management? Which format of the reviews is the most valuable? 

51. 84% of people say a brand's video convinced them to buy a product or service.

That is why video production is one of the most popular marketing directions. 

52. Reviews are now shaping how your brand appears in AI-generated search summaries (SGE), influencing clicks before a user even visits your site.

Answer Engine Optimization deeply influences your brand's online visibility. 

53. 60% of video marketers have created customer testimonial videos for their brand in 2025.

It is a great way to show social proof on your website. 

54. 70% of consumers feel comfortable using an AI agent to summarize reviews and guide them to a website.

People search through social media and ChatGPT; ensure your presence there. 

55. About half of consumers say they don't trust the results of AI-powered search and summaries when looking up products.

Personalised reviews and brand responses can create a positive first impression and foster client trust. 

56. 62% of consumers avoid brands that they believe are involved in review censorship.

Maintain a professional and concise tone of voice, yet remain friendly. 

57. 68% of customers form an opinion about a business after reading just 1 to 6 reviews.

So, each of your reviews counts. Try to increase the number of customer feedback through the growth of your business. 

58. 72% of B2B buyers agree that negative reviews provide deeper insight into a product or service.

If a negative review is unavoidable, craft your response as an argumentative and high-quality one to gain additional visibility and demonstrate that your business cares. 

59. 84% of consumers won't see a healthcare provider they were referred to if the provider is rated under 4 stars.

In such industries, as healthcare providers, it is extremely important to build trust with customers and prove that your services are safe and effective. 

60. 89% of B2B buyers who use review sites say they often or always check review sites before buying any business software.

It is also a great way to get your software into the catalog to be considered among competitors. 

To sum up, if you would like to achieve a new level of revenue, brand awareness, and increase trust and loyalty to your brand, reputation management is unavoidable. It gives you the opportunity to get in AI results, search engine optimization top, software catalogs, but most importantly, as a leading provider in your area to the target audience. 

Turn Customer Reviews Into Growth for Your Business

Online reviews influence every step of the buyer journey—from discovery to purchase. Don’t let negative reviews or missed feedback hold your business back.

With SeoSamba’s Marketing & Reputation Management Platform, you can:

• Easily monitor and respond to reviews across Google, Facebook, Yelp, and over 100 industry-specific platforms.
  
  
• Collect more positive reviews with automated requests, reminders, texting, and our smart reputation protection links.
  
  
• Leverage reviews to boost SEO and attract more local customers with our highly customizable and elegant widgets.
  
  
• Share your best review on social with our social marketing calendar.
• Track performance with real-time dashboards and actionable insights.
  
  

Start your free SeoSamba account today and see how easy it is to turn customer feedback into better visibility, trust, and sales.

For agencies managing multiple clients, staying on top of reviews and reputation signals can be a challenge—but the right tools make it seamless, scalable, and measurable.

Help Your Clients Shine with Powerful Review & Reputation Tools

Online reputation is now one of the biggest growth levers for local and multi-location clients—and the agencies that manage it effectively win long-term.

With SeoSamba’s White Label Marketing & Reputation Management Infrastructure, agencies can:

• Monitor and respond to reviews across Google, Facebook, Yelp, and industry platforms from one dashboard.
  
  
• Automate review requests and generate more 5-star feedback for every client.
  
  
• Boost SEO rankings with fresh user-generated content and structured review data.
  
  
• White-label the entire platform to strengthen your agency’s brand and recurring revenue.
  

Start your free SeoSamba Agency account today and discover how to deliver scalable review management, social marketing, and CRM automation under one roof.

For this comprehensive 2026 review statistics report, we sourced data from 15 primary research domains to ensure credibility and the utmost relevance. Our findings are grounded in reports from industry leaders like  Capital One Shopping, Inc.com, and the Medill Spiegel Research Center for consumer behavior and financial impact; specialist platforms like SeoSamba, Fera.ai, and WiserReview for management and conversion metrics; and digital marketing authorities like Sixth City Marketing, Shapo, Exploding Topics, ensuring that every one of the 60 statistics is highly citable and current. We also included data on emerging trends from Wyzowl for video, SeoProfy for local search, and technology insights from Dream Local Digital and CX Dive.