BrightLocal 2026: 74% of Consumers Only Trust Reviews From the Last 3 Months
What happened
BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey reveals a dramatic shift in how consumers judge review freshness. 74% of consumers now say they only trust reviews written in the last three months — up from 57% last year.
The speed at which recency expectations are rising is striking. 18% of consumers now only care about reviews written in the last week, and 32% only look at reviews from the past two weeks — a huge jump from 20% last year. Just 22% still consider reviews older than six months relevant.
This sits alongside the survey's other headline findings, which TapReview has covered previously: 31% now reject businesses below 4.5 stars, and 45% now use AI tools like ChatGPT to find local businesses. But the recency data may be the most actionable finding for tradespeople.
What this means for tradespeople
If your most recent Google review is from four months ago, three-quarters of potential customers are already dismissing you — regardless of your star rating or total review count.
This is a bigger problem for tradespeople than for restaurants or retail shops. A plumber might do three jobs a week but only get a review once every few months. That gap is now long enough for most consumers to consider your reviews stale.
The survey also found that 47% of consumers won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews. Combined with the recency requirement, this means you need both volume and freshness — a one-off push for reviews won't cut it anymore.
For a sole trader doing 10-15 jobs a month, even a modest 20% conversion rate on review requests would mean 2-3 new reviews monthly. That keeps you inside the three-month window and builds volume steadily.
What to do about it
Make review requests a routine part of finishing every job, not something you remember to do every few weeks. The easiest way is an automated message — sent via WhatsApp or SMS within 24 hours of completing the work — with a direct link to your Google review page.
If you've gone quiet on reviews, don't panic. Start with your most recent customers first and work backwards. Even three or four new reviews will push you back inside the window most consumers are looking at.
Source: BrightLocal — Local Consumer Review Survey 2026