Yext Research Finds that Nearly Half of U.S. Consumers Experience Inaccurate Business Hours

Rhea-AI Summary

A Yext survey reveals that 73% of consumers are unlikely to revisit businesses with inaccurate hours. The survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers found that 44% visited closed stores due to this issue. An analysis of 2.4 million business locations showed that only 8.6% updated their hours for Memorial Day 2021. Yext emphasizes the importance of accurate business information, especially during holidays, as 52% of surveyed consumers feel uncertain about businesses with outdated hours. Yext offers solutions to improve listing accuracy across various platforms.

Positive

• Over two-thirds of consumers are more likely to return to businesses with reliable online information.
• Yext manages business listings for over 100 million locations, ensuring accuracy.

Negative

• 44% of consumers reported visiting closed locations due to inaccurate business hours.
• Only 8.6% of locations updated their hours for Memorial Day 2021, indicating a significant gap in business responsiveness.

A recent Yext survey found that 73% of consumers won't give businesses a second chance if they show up to a closed storefront.

NEW YORK, May 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yext, Inc. (NYSE: YEXT), the Answers Company, today announced results from a new, original survey that illustrate the importance of maintaining accurate information on location listings, particularly around holidays.

The company surveyed 1,000+ consumers in the U.S. and found that 44% of respondents have visited closed locations as a result of inaccurate business hours within the past year. 73% of respondents indicated that they are unlikely to return to a business if it's listed as open online but turns out to be closed upon arrival.

In a separate analysis, Yext reviewed a sample of 2.4 million locations from current customers and found that over 80% have business hours populated within the Yext Knowledge Graph. Of these locations, only 8.6% updated their hours for Memorial Day in 2021. Locations that don't confirm business hours for holidays will display a warning on their Google Business Profile, and 52% of respondents in the recent Yext survey indicated that they aren't confident visiting a business location if they see this message.

The upside? More than two-thirds of respondents indicated that they are more likely to return to a business if its online information is consistent and reliable.

"Our research validates what we've known all along: users want to trust the information they find online, but too often businesses disappoint their customers by providing business hours that are either outdated or inaccurate," said Marc Ferrentino, President and Chief Operating Officer at Yext. "It's absolutely critical that businesses maintain complete, accurate information across all of their location listings. That's where Yext comes in."

Yext syncs critical information like business hours to more than 100 million listings and pushes over a billion updates annually across the industry's largest network of direct integration partners, which includes platforms like Google, Amazon Alexa, Apple Maps, Facebook, and many others. The company regularly advises its customers on best practices and this Memorial Day is no different — email reminders, notifications, and a helpful blog post offer guidance on how businesses can update their hours before the long weekend.

Learn more about Yext's best-in-class Location Listings solution here.

About Yext
Yext (NYSE: YEXT) is the Answers Company and is on a mission to empower every company in the world to provide authoritative answers to every question about their organization. Yext leverages AI to collect and organize a company's information and deliver it — in the form of answers — to customers, employees, and partners. Yext's Answers Platform works by pulling in information, organizing it into a Knowledge Graph and then delivering it via a set of platform services, including Listings, Search, Pages & Reviews. Brands like Verizon, Subway, and Marriott — as well as organizations like the U.S. State Department — trust Yext to radically improve their business and deliver perfect answers everywhere.

CONTACT: Gordon Knapp, pr@yext.com

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SOURCE Yext, Inc.

FAQ

What findings did Yext reveal about consumer behavior regarding storefront hours?

Yext's survey found that 73% of consumers are unlikely to return to a business if it has inaccurate business hours.

How many consumers reported visiting closed businesses due to inaccurate hours according to Yext?

44% of surveyed consumers reported visiting closed storefronts due to incorrect business hours.

What percentage of locations updated their hours for Memorial Day 2021 according to Yext's analysis?

Only 8.6% of Yext's analyzed locations updated their hours for Memorial Day 2021.

How does Yext help businesses maintain accurate location information?

Yext synchronizes business hours and information across over 100 million listings, ensuring accuracy.

Why is maintaining accurate business hours critical according to Yext?

Inaccurate business hours can lead to consumer distrust, with 52% feeling uncertain about visiting businesses with outdated hours.