In a fresh batch of survey data released today, Yelp poses the ultimate question: What makes reviews trustworthy? This is an ongoing area of optimization for Yelp, as it’s foundational to its core reviews product. The answer to this question continues to guide its UX – algorithmically and otherwise.
Before getting into the results, what was the survey methodology? Known as Material Survey 2022, it was fielded by Yelp’s data partner Material to 2,000 U.S. adults. The survey was conducted online throughout August and September. Now, with the mechanics out of the way, on to the findings…
Drilling Down
After reviewing and synthesizing the results, here are our key takeaways.
General Reviews Behavior
– 77 % of respondents read more online reviews now than they have in the past.
– Respondents read a median of five reviews about a given business before transacting.
Categories
– Respondents do the most research when it comes to dining, home services, and autos.
– Restaurants lead in reviews importance/frequency (67%), followed by household repairs/work (57%), car repair/services (55%), medical needs (51%), and professional services (42%).
Trust
– 28% of respondents actively look out for incentivized/compensated reviews.
– 71% say they would no longer visit a business if they learned the business has fake or compensated online reviews.
– When respondents think they’ve spotted a fake online review, they will…
– Read other reviews to gather additional opinions (49%),
– Ignore the potentially fake review (34%),
– Find another business (27%)
– Report the review (24%)
– 85% of respondents trust reviews with written text over only a star rating.
What Does it all Mean?
So what does it all mean? Our take is that consumers generally trust reviews platforms, but are wary of potential deception. This can be seen in how survey respondents dig deeper for authenticity after seeing any review content that looks suspicious. They’re also drawn to other signs of authenticity.
For example, it’s telling that consumers largely prefer written reviews, as opposed to just star ratings. The former is a signal of authenticity because it’s harder to game, and it comes from real humans. There’s also a quality factor, which boils down to depth, tone, and other attributes that confer trust.
These are subtle signals that can identify genuine reviews from real customers. This is contrasted with at-a-glance reviews that prioritize star ratings over narrative drill-downs. This finding is notable, as the latter is endemic to Yelp’s style (written reviews are required) while the former is seen more on Google.
All of the above stands to reason in the current environment. Though Yelp has always prioritized quality over quantity in the above ways, authenticity especially resonates in the age of misinformation. Given that consumer trust has been eroded for online content, it appears Yelp has chosen the right approach.
