With 2,624 Sacramento restaurants reviewed on Yelp, the capital city has thousands of restaurant-goers using Yelp to share their dining experiences with others. A recent study done by Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Michael Luca found that local restaurants increase revenue 5 to 9 percent per star they gain on Yelp.
The Sacramento Press wanted to see if this finding held true for restaurants in the central city. Comments and ratings on Yelp appear to make a big difference, but Sacramento restaurant owners and managers say they aren’t so sure.
Luca combined data on Seattle restaurant revenues that he collected from the Washington State Department of Revenue and Yelp ratings of the restaurants in his sample and found that no matter the type of restaurant, as long as it was not a chain, revenue increases correspond to ratings on Yelp.