What Do Customers Look at First When Choosing a Venue? Research Findings
Drawing on research findings, we look at the criteria customers prioritize when choosing a venue and how visual content shapes their decision.
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What Do Customers Look at First When Choosing a Venue? Research Findings
When choosing a restaurant, cafe, hotel or any other venue, customers go through a specific decision process. Understanding this process helps businesses develop the right strategies. Research findings reveal the critical role visual content plays in it.
1) The Age of Online Research
Today's consumers research a venue online before they go anywhere.
Research behaviors:
- Searching for venues on Google
- Checking them out on social media
- Reading review sites
- Looking through visual content
- Comparing prices
This pattern is even more pronounced among younger generations. Digital natives make research-based choices rather than spontaneous decisions.
2) Visual Content Comes First
Research shows that visual content is one of the primary factors in choosing a venue.
What the data says about visuals:
- Most customers won't decide without looking at visuals
- High-quality visual content builds trust
- Too few visuals raises suspicion
- Image quality shapes how people perceive the quality of the venue
A business's visual content strategy directly affects customer preference.
3) Photos vs. Virtual Tours
Customers show a clear preference between photos and virtual tours.
The limits of photos:
- A view from a single angle
- Hand-picked shots
- Suspicion of manipulation
- They can't fully convey the feel of a venue
The advantages of a virtual tour:
- A full 360-degree view
- Exploration under the user's control
- A realistic experience of the venue
- Building trust
Research shows that venues with a virtual tour are perceived as more trustworthy.
4) How Reviews and Visuals Work Together
Customers look at both reviews and visuals. The two serve different purposes.
The role of reviews:
- Learning about other people's experiences
- Getting a sense of service quality
- Spotting potential problems in advance
The role of visuals:
- Forming the first impression
- Judging the atmosphere
- Deciding whether it's a personal fit
The ideal scenario is positive reviews and high-quality visual content together.
5) Comparison Behavior
Rather than looking at a single venue, customers compare alternatives.
How comparison works:
- On average, 3-5 venues are examined in detail
- Visual richness helps a venue stand out
- A venue with a virtual tour gains an edge
- Decision time depends on visual quality
In this comparison, a virtual tour can be the deciding difference.
6) The Rise of Mobile Research
Most venue research is now done on mobile devices.
Characteristics of mobile behavior:
- The need to decide on the spot
- Researching on the go
- A preference for fast-loading content
- Navigating with a swipe of the finger
Virtual tours work well on mobile too and fit this behavior.
7) The Influence of Social Media
Social media has become an important source of information when choosing a venue.
How social media influences the choice:
- Instagram is used to discover venues
- Influencer posts steer preferences
- People look up location tags
- Visual aesthetics affect the decision
A business's visibility on social media affects whether people choose it.
8) Conclusion
Customers do thorough online research when choosing a venue, and visual content sits at the center of that research. By offering a realistic experience of the venue that goes beyond photos, a virtual tour builds trust and increases the chance of being chosen.
Venue selection criteria in summary:
- Visual content forms the first impression
- A virtual tour provides trust and transparency
- Customers compare alternatives
- High-quality visual richness gives you an edge
To influence customer choices in your favor, get a virtual tour from G360. You can browse examples from different industries in our portfolio.
You can explore our completed restaurant virtual tours in our portfolio.
From our archive: real project data
This assessment is based on data from 688 venues:
- 486 restaurants and 202 cafes in 52 provinces
- A total of 641,036 Google reviews analyzed
- 156 venues have received more than 1,000 reviews, which means there's heavy comparison traffic
- Average rating of 4.19
Review volume is a direct indicator of how much research customers do before deciding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Research shows that visual content, reviews and location information are the most important factors.
Most customers won't decide without looking at visuals first.
A virtual tour is more effective because it lets people experience the venue in a way photos can't.
They complement each other, but the first impression is usually formed by visuals.
Yes. Digital natives place more weight on visual research.
Price matters, but the perception of value is shaped by visuals and reviews.
On average, 3-5 venues are examined in detail and compared.
Yes, especially Instagram images and influencer posts.
The vast majority of venue research is done on mobile devices.
It lets people experience the venue in advance, which builds trust and speeds up the decision.
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