How often did consumers regret purchases after reading local-business reviews in 2026?
BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey reports that 70% of consumers in its representative panel of 1,002 US adults had made a purchase they later regretted after reading reviews.1 The finding records a reported sequence, not proof that reviews caused the purchase, the regret, or the amount spent.
By Sergey Sulimko, Founder · ·
Compiled from 1 source
- Read
- Oct 25, 2026
How often did BrightLocal's panel report regretting a purchase after reading reviews?
BrightLocal published the report on February 11, 2026. It says the survey used a representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers through SurveyMonkey.1
| What BrightLocal reported | Finding | Sample and source context |
|---|---|---|
| Made a purchase they later regretted after reading reviews | 70% | BrightLocal's representative panel of 1,002 US adults; 2026 survey via SurveyMonkey |
| Regretted spending less than $50 | 18% | The same panel; BrightLocal presents this as a threshold within its regret finding |
| Regretted spending more than $1,000 | 14% | The same panel; BrightLocal presents this as a threshold within its regret finding |
| Regretted spending more than $10,000 | 2% | The same panel; BrightLocal presents this as a threshold within its regret finding |
The public report does not separately state whether the three spend-threshold percentages use all 1,002 adults or only respondents who reported regret. Treat them as BrightLocal's published threshold figures, not as mutually exclusive bands that can be added together or rebased to the 70% figure.1
How common were purchases after reading reviews?
BrightLocal also reports that 93% of consumers in the panel had made a purchase after reading reviews. That is the purchase context for the regret finding, not a claim that every purchase was caused by reviews.1
| Purchase context BrightLocal reported | Finding | Sample and source context |
|---|---|---|
| Made a purchase after reading reviews | 93% | Representative panel of 1,002 US adults; 2026 survey via SurveyMonkey |
| Spent less than $500 on that purchase | Half | The same panel; the report does not state a separate denominator for this spend statement |
| Spent more than $1,000 after reading reviews | 27% | The same panel; the report does not state a separate denominator for this spend statement |
| Spent more than $5,000 after reading reviews | 13% | The same panel; the report does not state a separate denominator for this spend statement |
These purchase figures complement the broader Google review statistics for local businesses, which covers how often people read reviews and what review characteristics they say they prefer. The post-review actions reported by consumers answer a different question from purchase regret.
What did the survey measure, and when?
BrightLocal describes a representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers surveyed through SurveyMonkey. The 2026 report was published on February 11, 2026. The public report does not state the fieldwork dates, recruitment details beyond the SurveyMonkey method, or the exact questionnaire wording for the regret spend thresholds.1
The publication date is therefore the report date, not a stated survey window. The result describes what this panel reported in BrightLocal's survey edition, not a live count of every US purchase or a result for every local-business category.
Do these survey figures show that reviews caused purchase regret?
No. BrightLocal's report supports only a self-reported sequence: respondents read reviews, made a purchase, and later reported regret. The public report does not describe an experiment or another causal design that could show reviews caused the purchase, the regret, or the amount lost.1
For the review process itself, how Google reviews work is the more relevant guide. This statistics page does not turn BrightLocal's survey percentages into a Google rule, a required review count, or a predicted loss for a particular business.
What this does not show
What do these numbers not tell you?
- They do not measure the number of dollars consumers lost. BrightLocal publishes threshold statements, not a complete distribution of regretted spending.
- They do not establish a separate denominator for the 18%, 14%, and 2% regret thresholds. Those figures must not be summed, subtracted, or converted into a missing middle band.
- They do not describe every consumer, country, or local-business category. The stated population is BrightLocal's representative panel of 1,002 US adults.
- They do not provide a fieldwork window. February 11, 2026 is the report's publication date.
- They do not show that a review, rating, or business action caused a purchase outcome. Survey responses describe what people said happened after reading reviews.
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Sources
- 1Local Consumer Review Survey 2026: Star Ratings Keep Rising, Old Reviews Don’t Cut ItBrightLocalpublished February 11, 2026. Representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey; fieldwork dates and the exact regret spend-band denominators are not stated on the public report page. (read October 25, 2026)
Cite this page
Maps Agent, "How often did consumers regret purchases after reading local-business reviews in 2026?", updated Oct 28, 2026, maps-agent.com/