People now are using online reviews to decide where/what to eat, what to buy, what to watch and what to sell. Online reviews now have an impact on our decision making and they have become important for businesses as well. Online reviews are now helping us make decisions about places we have never been and they are now helping us narrow down our choices as consumers.
The infographic below shows how consumers read and use online review sites.
The percentage of millennials who trust online reviews has gone up to 68%, and now only 34% trust television advertisement. Online reviews on average now create an uprise of 18% in sales. But consumers are not reading endless reviews, 90% of then read less than 10 reviews before forming an opinion about a business, which means decisions are made quickly and without much hesitation.
Impact of reviews: online reviews have a huge impact on business and consumers, and this impact can be positive or negative. 22% of consumers will not purchase a product after one negative review. For very star a business gets, the sales revenue goes up by around 5-9%.
Impact of reviews by industry: The top five industries to be affected negatively by online reviews are: restaurants, hotels, doctor’s offices, hospitals and hair salons.
Fake reviews: Not all online reviews are genuine, of course, there are fake reviews with people either hyping their businesses or discrediting others. AOnly 27% of consumers will trust an online review if they think it is authentic even though a whopping 30% of online reviews may be fake.
Travel, Health, Restaurants & Jobs: Travellers use reviews on making decisions on where to stay, eat and things to try. U 59% of consumers say that review sites have the most influence on their booking decisions. Another industry where online reviews are extremely present is the health industry. A whopping 84% of patients say that they use online reviews to evaluate doctors. In addition, restaurants are another industry where online reviews are highly prominent. 61% of consumers have read online reviews about restaurants. This is more than any other business. Lastly, when people are searching for a job, it has been found that 83% of these job seekers are likely to base their decision on where to apply on company reviews and 76% of professionals claim to research a company online before considering a job opportunity.
The healthy industry is another place where online reviews are important. A whopping 84% of patients in the US say that they use online reviews to evaluate doctors. 61% of consumers have read online reviews about restaurants. This is more than any other business. Lastly, when people are searching for a job, it has been found that 83% of these job seekers are likely to base their decision on where to apply on company reviews and 76% of professionals claim to research a company online before considering a job opportunity.
61% of consumers have read online reviews about restaurants which are more than any other business. This is more than any other business. Lastly, when people are searching for a job, it has been found that 83% of these job seekers are likely to base their decision on where to apply on company reviews and 76% of professionals claim to research a company online before considering a job opportunity.
Job seekers are also using online reviews to make a decision on where to apply based on company reviews. 76% of professionals claim to research a company online before considering a job opportunity.
Influence of social media on online reviews: Social media is driving conversations on business and it has a huge influence on customers. I55% of consumers use Facebook as a place to learn more about brands. Customers are also looking at how businesses reply to negative reviews and online rating sites. When they deal with the customer issue in a positive way and a third of customers either deleted their original negative review or even replaced it with a positive review.
Here is the infographic giving some insights into online reviews.
