88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
Outdated Confidence: high
Source found and quoted correctly, but old enough that the market has changed.
- Commonly cited as
- "88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations" (as current)
- True origin
- BrightLocal — Local Consumer Review Survey 2014
- Type
- Stat check: A widely repeated statistic traced back to its origin.
- Year
- 2014
- Data as of
- 2014
- Last checked
- What the source says
88% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations (vs. 79% in 2013)
- Method & sample
- BrightLocal's own consumer panel: 2,104 responses, 90% US and 10% Canada, May-June 2014.
- Drift between quote and source
- Date: 12 years old; BrightLocal's later editions report much lower figures (49% in 2026, with changed wording)
- Interest
- BrightLocal sells local-SEO and review-management software.
Safe rephrasing
In BrightLocal's 2014 panel survey, 88% said they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations; the same company's recent editions report around half.
Sources we opened
Machine-readable: /api/claims/88-percent-trust-online-reviews.json · Last checked 2026-10-16