How soon after a purchase should I ask for a review?

Within 24 hours for most businesses, while the detail is still fresh. For e-commerce, wait a few days after delivery so the customer has actually used the product.

Is SMS or email better for review requests?

SMS is opened faster and suits same-day asks after short interactions. Email suits longer or multi-person decisions where you want room to personalise. Match the channel to the interaction.

How many times should I follow up?

Once, a few days later, and only to people who never opened the first message. Repeated chasing costs you goodwill with exactly the customers most likely to leave a positive review.

Should I only ask customers who seemed happy?

No. Filtering requests by expected sentiment is review gating, which violates Google's policies. Ask everyone on the same trigger and let the reviews fall where they fall.

How-to

The Best Time to Ask a Customer for a Review

Send the request within 24 hours of the purchase or visit, while the experience is still fresh, using a direct link to your Google review form — not your homepage. Personalized email or SMS outperforms in-store signage alone, and automating the ask right after a positive interaction produces the highest response rates.

Last updated 2026-10-06

Steps

Trigger the request automatically right after a positive signal — a completed order, a resolved support ticket, checkout.
Send within 24 hours; response rates drop sharply after the first day.
Link directly to the review form, not a general website or app-store page.
Personalize the message with the customer's name and what they purchased or experienced.
Follow up once, a few days later, for customers who haven't clicked yet — then stop.

Why the first 24 hours matter most

Request timing works on memory. A customer who is asked the same day can still recall the specific thing that went well — the server who noticed a dietary restriction, the technician who explained the fix — and that detail is what makes a review persuasive to the next reader.

Ask a week later and you tend to get a rating with a sentence attached, if you get anything. The experience has flattened into a general impression, and the share of people who bother to act on the request falls with it.

Timing by business type

The right trigger is the moment the value lands, and that moment moves by industry. For a restaurant it is shortly after the bill. For a home service it is once the job is finished and the site is clean, not when the invoice goes out. For e-commerce it is a few days after delivery, once the product has actually been used.

Healthcare and professional services need more care. Wait until the outcome is clear rather than asking as the patient or client walks out, and skip the request entirely for anyone whose matter is still unresolved.

Email, SMS, and how many follow-ups

SMS is read sooner and suits same-day asks after a short interaction. Email gives you room to personalise and works better where the decision took longer or there are several people involved. Picking per context beats choosing one channel for everything.

One follow-up is reasonable, a few days after the first message, for people who never opened it. Stop there. A third and fourth request annoys the customers most likely to have left you a good review.

Common mistakes

Asking every customer at checkout regardless of how the visit went — this can also cross into review gating.
Linking to the homepage instead of the review form directly.
Sending one mass campaign instead of triggering requests per interaction.

Frequently asked questions

How soon after a purchase should I ask for a review?: Within 24 hours for most businesses, while the detail is still fresh. For e-commerce, wait a few days after delivery so the customer has actually used the product.
Is SMS or email better for review requests?: SMS is opened faster and suits same-day asks after short interactions. Email suits longer or multi-person decisions where you want room to personalise. Match the channel to the interaction.
How many times should I follow up?: Once, a few days later, and only to people who never opened the first message. Repeated chasing costs you goodwill with exactly the customers most likely to leave a positive review.
Should I only ask customers who seemed happy?: No. Filtering requests by expected sentiment is review gating, which violates Google's policies. Ask everyone on the same trigger and let the reviews fall where they fall.