TripAdvisor usage falls over past year
Feed It Back’s latest social review tracker reveals a significant drop in TripAdvisor usage, with its market share falling from 33.9% in August 2018, to 25.1% in August 2019.
The data, taken from thousands of reviews left of the restaurant, pub and bar and quick service industries, shows that, over the same period, Facebook experienced a positive year-on-year increase, of 3.1%, with the platform now accounting for 10.3% of reviews.
Google remains the biggest player in the industry, with its percentage of reviews in August sitting at 64.3%.
The rise in prevalence of Facebook and the decrease in TripAdvisor usage has impacted the average social review score in the industry, which has risen from 4.0 out of 5 in August 2018, to 4.3 in 2019.
This increase has been driven by a spike in review scores across all platforms over the past year, with Facebook rising from 3.9 out of 5, to 4.1 over the same period. TripAdvisor grew from 3.9 to 4.1, and Google increased from 4.1 to 4.3.
Looking at the split between the sectors, the average social review score for the pub and bar industry rose from 4.1 to 4.3; while the restaurant industry increased from 4.0 to 4.3.
The main driver behind the spike in positive reviews for both sectors was the Facebook channel, where the average review score for restaurants rose from 4.0 to 4.6 out of 5, while pubs and bars experienced an increase from 4.4 to 4.6.
Analysing the reviews, there is a distinct trend in positive reviews containing the word ‘cocktail’ which has further risen in prevalence since last month and is now the primary driver of positive reviews across the Facebook platform. Wait times continue to drive negative reviews across all channels and sectors.
Commenting on the insight, Feed It Back’s CEO, Carlo Platia said “The statistics clearly show that there has been a spike in positive experiences in the hospitality industry in the past year. What’s particularly interesting about the statistics is that Facebook is the primary driver behind this positive shift, which can be partly attributed to its methodology change last September.
“It’s important that operators have the full facts at their fingertips when looking at review data because viewing statistics in isolation can be misleading. We work closely with our customers to ensure they have actionable feedback and they’re aware of the forces impacting the results, so they have a clear picture of what they need to do to drive loyalty, footfall and sales.
“Cocktails continue to be a prominent driver in positive reviews across all sectors, despite some of the questionable weather we’ve all experienced in August. It’s clear UK consumers have developed an appetite for cocktails and operators are creating quality cocktail experiences that delight guests. It will be interesting to see whether this continues as we move into Autumn.”
For press enquiries:
Geoff Campion
020 3567 5804 / 07957 251475
geoff@fsc.uk.com
Kate Goodbrand-Dillon
020 3567 5811 / 07878 481646
kateg@fsc.uk.com