Yelp’s ‘Black-Owned’ Tag Boosted Visibility But Hurt Ratings, Study Finds
Yelp’s “Black-owned” tag, introduced in 2020 to boost the visibility of Black-owned businesses, led to lower average ratings of Black-owned restaurants in Detroit, a recent study by The Conversation has found.
Restaurants tagged as Black-owned received 3.03 stars on average from reviewers aware of the ownership, compared to 3.78 stars from those who were unsure.
Increased visibility, but lower ratings
The visibility of Black-owned restaurants on Yelp significantly increased following Yelp’s June 2020 edition of the Black-owned tag. A year after the tag was introduced, reviews in Detroit mentioned Black ownership 4.3% more frequently than before its rollout.
Detroit’s Black-owned restaurants also experienced a small, temporary surge in reviews, primarily around the time Yelp introduced the “Black-owned” tag. At the same time, the restaurants’ average star ratings fell from 3.91 to 3.88. However, the ratings of non-Black-owned restaurants remained relatively steady at 3.90.
Although the 0.03-star rating change is small, even minor changes to small ratings can affect the number of people who dine at a restaurant, their earning potential, and the likelihood they will sell out of food.
Revealing Detroit’s racial dynamics
Yelp’s intention to promote Black businesses in Detroit was positive, but it did not consider platform and community-based factors that often affect user interactions.
Even though Detroit is a majority Black city, Yelp’s user base is predominantly white, educated, and affluent. As a result, The Conversation argues the lower reviews for businesses featuring a Black-owned tag highlight existing racial and digital divides in the city.
For example, non-Black users sometimes mentioned “slower” and “rude” service when giving lower ratings. But, close readings of these reviewers implied intercultural and communicative misunderstandings.
Image: Jim Nyamao
