Reviews and money
One figure dominates every article on this subject: a one-star increase is worth 5 to 9 percent of revenue. It is a real finding from a real study. It is also from 2011, it covers restaurants in one US state, and it does not apply to chains. All three of those facts are usually left out.
Where these numbers come from
Michael Luca, Harvard Business School, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com (Working Paper 12-016) — Yelp reviews matched to Washington State Department of Revenue restaurant data, United States. Published 1 September 2011. Checked against the original on 10 November 2026.
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 — 1,002 US adults, United States. Published 11 February 2026. Checked against the original on 10 November 2026.
Every figure on this page was read from the study itself, not from another article quoting it. Nothing is rounded or reworded.
The finding, stated as the paper states it.
A one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5 to 9 percent increase in restaurant revenue.
Michael Luca, Harvard Business School, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com (Working Paper 12-016) — Yelp reviews matched to Washington State Department of Revenue restaurant data, United States. Published 1 September 2011. Checked against the original on 10 November 2026.
A one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5 to 9 percent increase in restaurant revenue. Source: Michael Luca, Harvard Business School, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com (Working Paper 12-016) (Yelp reviews matched to Washington State Department of Revenue restaurant data, United States, 1 September 2011). Via Climbo: https://www.climbo.com/statistics/reviews-and-revenue-statistics#stat-luca-revenue
The limit that gets dropped when the number is quoted.
The revenue effect is driven by independent restaurants: ratings do not affect restaurants with a chain affiliation.
Michael Luca, Harvard Business School, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com (Working Paper 12-016) — Yelp reviews matched to Washington State Department of Revenue restaurant data, United States. Published 1 September 2011. Checked against the original on 10 November 2026.
The revenue effect is driven by independent restaurants: ratings do not affect restaurants with a chain affiliation. Source: Michael Luca, Harvard Business School, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com (Working Paper 12-016) (Yelp reviews matched to Washington State Department of Revenue restaurant data, United States, 1 September 2011). Via Climbo: https://www.climbo.com/statistics/reviews-and-revenue-statistics#stat-luca-chains
Survey evidence on stated intent, which is not the same thing as measured revenue. Both numbers below describe what people say, not what was observed in sales data.
85% of consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews.
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 — 1,002 US adults, United States. Published 11 February 2026. Checked against the original on 10 November 2026.
85% of consumers are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews. Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (1,002 US adults, United States, 11 February 2026). Via Climbo: https://www.climbo.com/statistics/reviews-and-revenue-statistics#stat-positive-85
77% are less likely to use a business after reading negative reviews.
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 — 1,002 US adults, United States. Published 11 February 2026. Checked against the original on 10 November 2026.
77% are less likely to use a business after reading negative reviews. Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (1,002 US adults, United States, 11 February 2026). Via Climbo: https://www.climbo.com/statistics/reviews-and-revenue-statistics#stat-negative-77
Each figure lives on one page only. These cover the neighbouring questions.
Review response statisticsthe one intervention with a measured effect on ratings Online review statisticsthe thresholds consumers apply before a business is consideredA one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5 to 9 percent increase in restaurant revenue, according to Michael Luca, Harvard Business School Working Paper 12-016, written in September 2011 and revised in March 2016. It matched Yelp reviews to restaurant data from the Washington State Department of Revenue, using a regression discontinuity on Yelp's rounded ratings.
No. The paper finds the effect is driven by independent restaurants and that ratings do not affect restaurants with a chain affiliation. Chains have lost market share as Yelp penetration has grown.
It is the best-identified figure available, but it is not recent. The underlying data is from restaurants in Washington State and the paper dates from 2011, revised 2016. Anyone presenting it as a current, universal number is overstating it.
85% are more likely to use a business after reading positive reviews, 77% are less likely after negative ones, and 31% will only use a business rated 4.5 stars or higher. 93% have made a purchase after reading reviews and 70% have regretted one. Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, 1,002 US adults.
First published 10 November 2026. Every source on this page was last reopened and its figures confirmed on 10 November 2026. That date moves when a source is checked again, not when the page is rebuilt, and a figure is replaced only if the publishing organisation has changed it.
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