Over half (58%) of UK consumers refer to ratings before deciding where to eat, drink or travel, according to a new study by pricing specialist Simon-Kucher.
The report, entitled Trend Radar 2019 – The Rating Economy, revealed a similar number of respondents in the UK and Europe (56%) check hospitality and travel ratings regularly, while more than one-third (36%) regularly rate an experience.
One-third recently switched their choice because of consumer ratings, with two-fifths (40%) generally choosing the highest-rated option – a higher figure than any other sector covered by the study.
When considering hospitality and travel sector purchases, one-fifth (20%) would pay more for a higher-rated product.
Said Dimitris Hiotis, global head of leisure, travel and transportation at Simon-Kucher, “Companies have long been aware of the importance of ratings and rating platforms in travel and hospitality, which have been a driving force behind big disruptors such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor and Opentable, which have been able to dominate the industry by incorporating customer ratings at the heart of their business models.”
The study asked 6,400 consumers in 23 countries, including 440 from the UK, about their rating behaviour in February.
