BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, a representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers, asked how recent a review has to be to matter. 18 percent are only swayed by reviews written in the last week. 32 percent look for reviews from the last two weeks, up from 20 percent the year before. 74 percent look for reviews from the last three months.
- Only swayed by reviews from the last week: 18 percent
- Look for reviews from the last two weeks: 32 percent (20 percent in 2025)
- Look for reviews from the last three months: 74 percent
- Will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews: 47 percent
- Willing to use one with five or fewer: 9 percent
- Expect the owner to respond to reviews: 89 percent
- Expect a reply the same day they post: 19 percent (6 percent in 2025)
These are self-reported answers, not observed behavior, and they cover every kind of local business. The two year-over-year jumps are the story: the two-week window went from 20 to 32 percent, and the same-day reply expectation went from 6 to 19 percent.
A profile with forty reviews, the newest from March, and no owner replies, has not changed. The reader's bar did. The fix is a routine, not a campaign: an ask after every job, and a reply to every review within the day.
Open your Google profile and check two dates: your newest review, and your last reply to one.
What ProxMedia does about it: the review request after every job, reply drafts in your voice to read and post, and the profile work that keeps the listing current.
Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey, published February 11, 2026).