The short answer
Reviews are part of how many people evaluate local businesses. BrightLocal reports that 97% of respondents read reviews for local businesses in its 2026 survey. That measures reported behavior, not how many people will book with your business. [1]
For an owner, the useful question is whether the experience after reading a review gives the customer enough information to act.
What the study actually measured
BrightLocal describes a representative panel of 1,002 US adults surveyed through SurveyMonkey. The public report does not provide field dates or a response rate. The findings concern consumer reports of their behavior and preferences, rather than observed appointment conversions. [1]
Do not turn the headline into a claim that reviews influence 97% of your customers or cause a particular revenue increase. Your audience, service and local competition may differ.
IMS interpretation: inspect the handoff
Think of the journey from review to decision as a handoff. The review creates a reason to investigate. Your listing, website and staff then need to answer the next question. This framing is IMS advice, not an effect measured by the survey.
A potential salon customer reads praise for a stylist’s color work. They open the website and find no clear way to choose that stylist or request a consultation. The reviews have done their job of attracting interest, but the next step is uncertain.
A gym may face a different question: does a trial require a contract? A wellness business may need to explain appointment duration and what a first visit includes. Good reviews do not answer every practical concern.
Check your own decision path
Start with a review that mentions a specific service. Open the business listing and follow its website link on your phone. Can you find that service, understand the next step and contact the right person?
Next, compare the business name, location, hours and booking route across the places customers encounter you. Treat contradictions as tasks for an owner to resolve.
Finally, ask recent customers what they checked before choosing you. Use their answers to decide where to improve information. Their responses will not establish causation, but they can reveal questions your current pages miss.
Make reviews useful in discovery
An agency can walk through this path with a prospect instead of starting with a review-count target. Show the exact point where a customer has to guess. That makes a proposed fix easier to understand and assess.
The Revenue Leak Assessment includes review and customer-lifecycle questions that can help start this discussion. Confirm the actual workflow before recommending software or promising results.
Original source
[1] BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026. Published February 11, 2026; Rosie Murphy. SurveyMonkey panel of 1,002 US adults. Public page does not disclose field dates, response rate or item-level weighting.
IMS interpretation and examples are editorial recommendations, not additional study findings.
IMS examples and suggested actions are practical guidance, not additional findings from the original study. Review the source and its limitations before using the statistic.