46% of Brits say they wouldn’t buy a product or service from a company if a review said it was of poor quality, a survey from small business credit card company Capital on Tap has revealed.
To help business owners, the survey sheds light on what causes people to leave reviews – both positive and negative – as well as the cities across the UK are the most likely to leave negative feedback.
The full research can be viewed here: https://www.capitalontap.com/en/blog/posts/how-do-customer-reviews-impact-business
The main reason Brit’s leave negative reviews is due to a poor quality product or service
A poor quality product or service is the reason most people would leave a negative review, with 72% of those surveyed saying they would do so in this situation.
People are also more likely to leave a negative review if they have a bad experience overall, whether that be with a national company (69%) or a small business (66%). It’s interesting to note that Brits tend to be a little more forgiving of small businesses as opposed to the larger giants.
| Rank | Situation | % who would leave a negative review |
| 1 | A product or service is of a lower quality than expected. | 72% |
| =2 | Purchased a product or service from a national company and had a negative experience overall. | 69% |
| =3 | Purchased a product or service from a small business and had a negative experience overall. | 66% |
| =3 | A product or service purchased differed from the original description. | 66% |
Belfast is the city most likely to leave a negative review, with 90% admitting they would do so
Looking at locations across the UK, residents of Belfast are the most likely to leave a negative review, with 90% admitting they would be happy to do so. This is followed by Bristol and Brighton with 88% and 84% of residents leaving negative reviews respectively.
It seems people in Brighton are happy to leave a review regardless of the situation, as they’re the most likely to leave a positive review. 94% of those living in the seaside town say they would leave good feedback across a range of purchasing situations.
84% of people are most likely to leave a positive review if they think the product or service provides good value for money
Brits are most likely to leave a positive review if they think the product or service provides good value for money, with 84% saying they would do this.
An additional 83% of people said they would leave a positive review if the business offers good quality customer service.
Alex Miles, COO at Capital on Tap said: “Negative reviews can clearly have a big impact on consumer behaviour. In fact, our survey found 11% of people say they wouldn’t buy a product or use a service if it has an online review below five stars.
“If you do receive negative reviews as a business owner, don’t ignore them. This is a chance to fix the problem, but it’s also an opportunity to show other potential customers that you’re a professional company that cares about the experience of each individual. Any negative feedback is also a chance to improve your product or service.
“Also try to encourage as many reviews as possible. Make sure the review process is seamless and keep it personal so customers feel like their feedback will actually make a difference. One of the best ways to encourage positive reviews is to provide great quality products and services, so that each of your customers has something good to say.”
All data was collected from a survey of 1,002 general consumers in the UK in April 2024.
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