Google continues to be most popular review platform

by XPRESS, 04 February 2019

Google continues to outstrip Facebook and TripAdvisor for its percentage share of online reviews, according to new statistics from Feed It Back’s monthly social review tracker. The statistics, taken from thousands of social reviews across the restaurant, quick service restaurant and pub industries, revealed Google accounted for 64% of reviews in January, up slightly from 63% in December. TripAdvisor’s percentage of reviews remained stable at 26% from December to January. The percentage of reviews left on Facebook has fallen slightly from 12% in December to 10% in January. TripAdvisor saw an increase in its average review rating, which rose from 3.9 in December to 4.0 in January. Conversely, Facebook’s average review score fell from 4.4 in December to 4.3 in January. During the same period, Google’s average score remained flat at 4.1. Facebook’s score has been significantly impacted by its polarised methodology change to a yes/no recommendation, which has seen negative reviews rise from 15% in December to 17% in January. TripAdvisor’s increase in positive rating has been driven by an increase in reviews scoring 3.0 and 4.0 out 5.0. The average customer review in the pub and bar sector remained stable at 4.3 in January. However, the average rating of restaurants fell to 4.1, driven by an increase in negative reviews left across Facebook, where the average rating dropped from 4.3 in December to 4.1 in January. Across both sectors, speed of service and wait time still dominate the reasoning behind negative reviews. Price has been a prominent driver for positive reviews in January, shifting from terms such as “friendly staff”, “atmosphere” and “experience” in December. Feed It Back chief executive Carlo Platia said: “January is typically a difficult month for the industry, with a perfect storm of people going out less frequently after their Christmas festivities combined with health-driven new year’s resolutions and initiatives such as Dry January. However, in recent years the industry has fought back and proactively driven footfall, with the figures suggesting discount offers and deals have delivered positive reviews this January. Google has kick-started 2019 where it left off last year, steadily growing its share of reviews across the market. Interestingly, Facebook’s move to a polarised methodology in August, which has now all but rolled out across the entire platform, has had an adverse impact on reviews across the restaurant sector, which has seen an increase in negative reviews.” This data is part of a regular report Feed It Back runs across social reviews and just scratches the surface of their ability to drive revisits.

Article Credit: Propel