While '4.0+' Review Star Rating is Ideal, About Half Consider Visiting with '3.5+' [Survey on Usage of Reviews]
FINEXT Inc. surveyed 329 people on review usage. While a 4.0+ rating is ideal, 47.4% consider visiting with a 3.5-3.9 rating. Review volume (10+) and freshness (<3 months) are crucial.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 2, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 2, 2026 at 14:02
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 21, 2026 at 05:58 (447h 55m after Collected)
**FINEXT Inc. (Headquarters: Fujimino City, Saitama Prefecture, https://finext.co.jp/), which provides Web marketing support for SMEs based in Fujimino City, Saitama Prefecture, conducted a 'Survey on the Actual Usage of Reviews' among 329 men and women nationwide in their 20s to 60s who have used reviews as a reference when choosing stores or services.**
This survey was conducted to clarify as primary information how review star ratings, volume, and freshness affect consumers' decisions to visit a store.
As a result, it was revealed that while the most common minimum star rating considered for a visit was '4.0 or higher' (28.3%), about half of the respondents (47.4%) said they would consider visiting even with a rating of 3.5 to 3.9.
Furthermore, the survey suggests that having '10 or more' reviews and freshness 'within 3 months' are the dividing lines for trust, indicating that having a mechanism to continuously collect reviews makes a difference in the ability to attract customers.
**Survey Overview**
* Survey Period: Wednesday, March 11, 2026 - Tuesday, March 16, 2026
* Survey Target: Men and women nationwide in their 20s to 60s who have referred to reviews when choosing stores or services
* Valid Responses: 329 (121 men / 208 women)
* Age Breakdown: 20s: 68 / 30s: 124 / 40s: 81 / 50s: 44 / 60s: 12
* Survey Method: Internet survey
* *Percentages for multiple-choice questions are calculated using the number of valid respondents as the denominator.*
* *Because data is rounded to one decimal place, totals may not equal exactly 100%.
**Summary of Survey Results**
* The most used platform for gathering reviews is Google Maps (76.6%), followed by Tabelog (64.1%), with e-commerce sites like Amazon and Rakuten Ichiba also ranking high.
* When reading reviews, the most important factor is 'overall star rating' (76.9%), followed by 'text content of the review' (74.2%) and 'number of reviews' (61.7%).
* The most common minimum star rating for considering a visit is '4.0+' (28.3%), but about half (47.4%) will consider visiting even with '3.5-3.9'.
* The tipping point for the number of reviews is '10-19' (21.3%), and roughly 70% say they trust a business with a total of 10 or more reviews.
* The most preferred freshness of reviews is 'within 3 months' (30.1%), and combining it with 'within 1 month', more than half (56.2%) consider it important.
* Over 60% responded that they 'have' experience posting reviews, revealing a growing consumer awareness of posting reviews.
* The biggest motivation for posting a review is 'when having an exceptionally good experience' (62.2%), suggesting that experience design influences reviews.
* The top three reasons for not posting reviews are 'no habit of writing' (56.3%), 'takes time and effort' (41.4%), and 'anxious about personal information' (33.6%), all of which are barriers that can be resolved through systems.
**Request Regarding Citations**
When citing the survey results, please use 'Source: FINEXT Inc. [Survey...]'
This survey was conducted to clarify as primary information how review star ratings, volume, and freshness affect consumers' decisions to visit a store.
As a result, it was revealed that while the most common minimum star rating considered for a visit was '4.0 or higher' (28.3%), about half of the respondents (47.4%) said they would consider visiting even with a rating of 3.5 to 3.9.
Furthermore, the survey suggests that having '10 or more' reviews and freshness 'within 3 months' are the dividing lines for trust, indicating that having a mechanism to continuously collect reviews makes a difference in the ability to attract customers.
**Survey Overview**
* Survey Period: Wednesday, March 11, 2026 - Tuesday, March 16, 2026
* Survey Target: Men and women nationwide in their 20s to 60s who have referred to reviews when choosing stores or services
* Valid Responses: 329 (121 men / 208 women)
* Age Breakdown: 20s: 68 / 30s: 124 / 40s: 81 / 50s: 44 / 60s: 12
* Survey Method: Internet survey
* *Percentages for multiple-choice questions are calculated using the number of valid respondents as the denominator.*
* *Because data is rounded to one decimal place, totals may not equal exactly 100%.
**Summary of Survey Results**
* The most used platform for gathering reviews is Google Maps (76.6%), followed by Tabelog (64.1%), with e-commerce sites like Amazon and Rakuten Ichiba also ranking high.
* When reading reviews, the most important factor is 'overall star rating' (76.9%), followed by 'text content of the review' (74.2%) and 'number of reviews' (61.7%).
* The most common minimum star rating for considering a visit is '4.0+' (28.3%), but about half (47.4%) will consider visiting even with '3.5-3.9'.
* The tipping point for the number of reviews is '10-19' (21.3%), and roughly 70% say they trust a business with a total of 10 or more reviews.
* The most preferred freshness of reviews is 'within 3 months' (30.1%), and combining it with 'within 1 month', more than half (56.2%) consider it important.
* Over 60% responded that they 'have' experience posting reviews, revealing a growing consumer awareness of posting reviews.
* The biggest motivation for posting a review is 'when having an exceptionally good experience' (62.2%), suggesting that experience design influences reviews.
* The top three reasons for not posting reviews are 'no habit of writing' (56.3%), 'takes time and effort' (41.4%), and 'anxious about personal information' (33.6%), all of which are barriers that can be resolved through systems.
**Request Regarding Citations**
When citing the survey results, please use 'Source: FINEXT Inc. [Survey...]'