Hair Salons Reply to 30.7% of Their Google Reviews vs a 40.5% Average

A client leaves a glowing Google review after a new cut and color, naming her stylist. A week later she checks back: no reply. Down the street, another salon thanks every client by name within a day, and new clients reading both profiles notice the difference.

For a hair salon, the Google Business Profile, the free listing that shows a business's reviews, star rating, hours, photos and website in Google Search and Maps, is where new clients compare salons. Replies are the one part of the reviews a salon controls, and they show prospective clients how the salon treats the people in its chair.

Salon clients are generous: the average salon is rated 4.69 stars and 4.8% fall below 4 stars. Salons rarely answer them. They reply to 30.7% of their Google reviews, 16th of 18 categories, and to 30.7% of five-star reviews, against a 42% average, so most of the praise goes unacknowledged.

We analysed two samples of US hair salons from a licensed data provider, both as of September 23, 2026. The first is 720 hair salon Google Business Profiles, with each profile's number of reviews, star rating, website, opening hours, description, claim status, business categories and photos. The second is up to 20 of the newest Google reviews of 555 salons with at least one review, 8,595 in all, with each review's star rating, text and any owner reply. We compare every salon figure with the average of the 18 local business categories in the same study.

The reply rate is the share of reviews that carry a reply from the owner. A salon "never replied" when none of its 20 newest reviews has a reply. Negative reviews are one- and two-star reviews. A profile is unclaimed when no owner has verified it with Google. The median is the middle salon: half have more, half have fewer. The 18-category average is the simple average of the 18 category figures.

That ranks salons 16th of 18 categories, against a 40.5% average. 52.6% of salons never replied to any of their 20 newest reviews, close to the 52.8% average, so the gap comes from salons that reply to some reviews and skip the rest. Salons reply to 31.4% of one- and two-star reviews, slightly above the 30.8% average and 9th of 18, and to 30.7% of five-star reviews, well below the 42% average.

Salons that reply take 4.6 days on average, slower than the 4-day average, with a median of 3 days. The busiest salons reply most: 55.3% of salon reviews from the last 30 days have a reply. Across all 18 categories, 20.5% of businesses with 200 or more reviews never reply, against 81.7% of businesses with fewer than 10.

Salon clients are more satisfied than the average local business customer. The average salon is rated 4.69 stars, against 4.52, and 4.8% of rated salons sit below 4 stars, about a third of the 13.8% average. 36.9% hold a perfect 5.0.

Review counts are healthier than in most categories: 44.7% of salons have fewer than 20 reviews, 5th lowest of 18, against a 58.2% average, and the median salon has 24. Claimed salon profiles have a median of 28.5 reviews against 11 for unclaimed ones. But growth has stalled for small salons: among salons with 20 or fewer lifetime reviews, review volume fell 17.3% over the last 12 months compared with the year before, and 30.6% received at least a third of their reviews in a single month.

Of English-language one-star reviews of hair salons, 31% mention price or cost and 21% mention rude or unprofessional staff. A haircut is personal, so a price that grows at the till or a stylist who dismisses a client's concerns turns quickly into a one-star review.

Happy clients recommend their salon: of five-star reviews, 22.5% use the word "recommend", 11.2% say "professional" and 10% say "friendly". Salon reviews from the last 12 months average 37.6 words, enough detail for the salon to write a personal reply.

Hair salons are near the average on most profile fields. 22.8% are unclaimed, against 29.2%, and 26.5% list no opening hours, against 28.6%. 42.5% have no description, against 43.9%. The main field where salons trail is the website: 37.8% link none, against 35.1%. 88.5% list wheelchair access, against 62%, and the median salon profile has 15 photos, against 18.

In a separate Suff Digital study of 3,160 Google Maps searches across 79 US cities, the top three results for "hair salon" had a median of 85 reviews, against 72 for salons ranked 4 to 20, and 84.6% linked a website, against 81.3% below them. 71.1% of top-three names include the service word, chains held 0.8% of top-three spots, and adding "near me" changed the top three in 74.7% of city searches.

Reply to every review, and start with the five-star ones salons most often skip. A short thank-you that names the client's stylist or service takes a minute and shows every prospective client that the salon notices its regulars. Set up notifications so new reviews reach someone the same day, and aim to reply within two days.

For complaints, reply calmly and offer to fix the cut or color, and post your prices clearly on your website and profile, since 31% of one-star salon reviews mention price or cost. Link a website if you have not, with your services, prices, stylists and a booking link.

Keep new reviews coming by asking every client at checkout or by text after the appointment, especially first-time clients, who have not reviewed you yet. Our local seo packages include review replies, review requests and Google Business Profile management for salons.

Embed this research

Cite this study