Online reviews are still dictating buying and selling habits

When researching information about a product, before deciding whether to buy it or not, did you know that online reviews rank as high in consumers' minds as personal recommendations?

This amazing statistic, among many more, was revealed in the local consumer review survey. As per online review statistics, 91% of the key 18-34 years old demographic trusted online reviews as much as personal recommendations with regards to product searches. Those reports came at the end of 2020. Another report, this time from 2018, revealed just how great was the impact of online reviews on customers' decisions and showed that 91% of people trust online consumers reviews. So in the last few years, the power of what customers comment on and the rate is probably the biggest factor in purchasing decisions overall.

The 5 leading industries in which consumers were likely to read reviews were, in descending order, restaurants, hotels, medical, automotive, and clothing stores. Star rating was the leading factor in searching reviews for a local business, followed by legitimacy, recency (how new was the business), sentiment, and quantity (how many reviews appeared online). Google my business and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) ranked high in terms of what platforms customers use to read reviews on and Facebook led in the social review sites category. And while positive reviews are obvious in increasing consumer trust, negative mentions are truly hurtful to companies. 94% claimed that a bad online review has led them to avoid a business.

Just how active were American consumers in 2020 was revealed by the fact that 72% of them admitted to having written at least one review for a local business during the year, a jump from 66% in 2019. So consumers are both reading and writing reviews, giving them such great power in the consumerism world. Some experts think that these statistics were to be expected due to the fact that many people stayed at home during the pandemic, but regardless of those special circumstances, both customers and retailers are continuing to communicate through the review boards and platforms.

As usual, in recent years, Affogata stands at the forefront of customer feedback and reviews. When gathering and analyzing customer feedback from many points all over the web, Affogata is able to supply in real-time, all the time, analysis of what customers are saying and thinking regarding a company's products and services. There's no need to wait for the end-of-the-year reports and in fact, companies need data analysis all year round.

Affogata delivers analysis in many different areas relevant to every company so that they always know where they stand, how their products are resonating with consumers, and how they perform against their market competition. So customers are reading other customers' comments before they make purchase decisions. And companies can use the same data, only in a manner of thousands of collections analyzed, for their insights and benefits.