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Local Voice research
Call data for local service businesses
Studies on how customers call contractors and home service businesses, and what happens when nobody picks up. Every figure links to the study it came from.
Research by Adam Brewer, founder of Local Voice. Updated October 14, 2026.
Research articles
Articles by topic
Each article takes one published study, checks every figure at the source and works out what it means for a local service business. Articles link here as they go live.
Start here
Missed call statistics: every number that checks out, and the 11 that don't
Every verified figure from these studies in one place, grouped by topic and linked to its source. Plus the popular claims we couldn't trace, and what to use instead.
Missed calls and callbacks
How often calls go unanswered, how often they get returned, and where the caller goes next.
62% of calls to small businesses go unanswered
A 411 Locals study found 62% of calls to small businesses went unanswered. We set it next to Invoca's 2026 data on how many callers reach a person.
Sources: 411 Locals, 2016. Invoca, 2026.
69% of missed business calls never get a callback
Quo found 69% of missed business calls get no callback within 48 hours. We work out what one missed call is worth in each trade.
Source: Quo, 2026.
78% of callers have abandoned a business after an unanswered call
CallRail asked 1,000 U.S. consumers what they do when nobody picks up, and how long they'll wait on hold.
Source: CallRail, 2025.
After hours, weekends and booking rates
What happens to calls, and to booked jobs, once the office closes.
41% of weekend calls to home service businesses go unanswered
ServiceTitan found weekend calls go unanswered more than twice as often as weekday calls, 41% against 18%. We call it the Saturday problem.
Sources: ServiceTitan, 2023. BrightLocal, 2019.
After 6 p.m., small shops book just 9% of calls
ServiceTitan's booking data shows how few after-hours calls turn into booked jobs at small shops, and what that gap costs.
Source: ServiceTitan, 2022.
The typical trade shop books 42% of inbound calls. Small shops book 24%.
ServiceTitan's booking rates by shop size, and what closing the gap would be worth to a small shop.
Source: ServiceTitan, 2022.
Speed to lead and response time
How fast customers expect an answer, and what waiting costs you.
Waiting 30 minutes instead of 5 cut the odds of qualifying a web lead 21-fold
The research behind the five-minute rule: what it measured, and what it means for a contractor's phone.
Sources: Lead Response Management Study, 2007. Harvard Business Review, 2011.
56% of customers expect a reply within an hour. Only 20% of home service pros reply that fast.
Invoca found 56% of buyers expect a reply within an hour. Jobber's 2026 survey of home service owners shows what their customers expect.
Sources: Invoca, 2026. Jobber, 2026.
Phone calls, conversion and local search
Why the phone still matters, and how customers find you before they call.
45% of home services phone leads convert during the call
Invoca's 2026 benchmarks, built on more than 70 million calls, show how often a home services phone lead converts before the call ends.
Source: Invoca, 2026.
44% of buyers now prefer to call a business for help
Invoca found 44% of buyers would rather call when they need help from a business. We compare it with Hiya's 2022 survey.
Sources: Invoca, 2025 and 2026. Hiya, 2022.
9 in 10 Google searches that turn up a plumber don't use the plumber's name
BrightLocal found most searches that show a trade's listing are for the service, not the business name. When you don't answer, the next listing is one tap away.
Sources: BrightLocal, 2019. Rio SEO, 2025.
AI on the phone
What customers will and won't accept from an AI receptionist.
77% of customers accept AI as long as a human is still available
Invoca's surveys show where buyers draw the line with AI, and how to set up an AI receptionist that keeps a person within reach.
Source: Invoca, 2025 and 2026.
Half of consumers would book an appointment through an AI assistant
CallRail asked consumers what they'd let an AI assistant handle. We sort the phone tasks they're comfortable with from the ones they aren't.
Source: CallRail, 2025.
Small business AI use jumped from 39% to 55% in one year
Thryv tracked AI use among small businesses. We compare it with Jobber's 2026 data on home service owners.
Sources: Thryv, 2025. Jobber, 2026.
Conflicting numbers and real costs
Where well-known figures disagree, why they do, and what it costs to answer every call.
Do callers leave voicemails? One study says 42%. Another says 6%.
The 42% comes from CallRail's survey of U.S. consumers. The 6% comes from a U.K. survey cited by Quo. Here's why they differ.
Sources: CallRail, 2025. Quo.
Only 33% are comfortable with AI on a phone call. So why do 52% say after-hours AI is better?
Vonage found 33% are comfortable with AI on a phone call. CallRail found 52% prefer AI after hours. The two surveys asked different questions.
Sources: Vonage, 2024. CallRail, 2025. Invoca, 2025.
What it costs to answer every call: $250 to $2,100 a month for a live service, $29 to $349 for AI
Published prices for each way to cover your phone, set against what one missed job is worth in your trade.
Sources: published vendor pricing. Angi cost guides.
How we check a number
We don't publish a number we can't trace.
A figure that says 80% of callers don't leave voicemails gets repeated across our industry. We couldn't find the study behind it, so we don't use it. CallRail's 2025 survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers found 42% do leave one.
We read the original study, not a blog post that quotes it.
We name the organization, report, date and sample next to every figure.
We leave out numbers we can't trace, even popular ones.
Our own studies explain the method before they list the sources.
Missed call statistics
The figures we cite most
Each one was checked at its source in October 2026. Use them, and cite the original study.
of missed business calls get no callback within 48 hours.
Quo (formerly OpenPhone), Small Business Callback Statistics, Aug. 2026. 16.7M missed calls.
of consumers say they'll call a competitor if a business doesn't answer.
CallRail, Missed Calls Cost Businesses More Than Ever, Sept. 2025. 1,000 U.S. consumers.
of consumers leave a voicemail when a business misses their call.
CallRail, Missed Calls Cost Businesses More Than Ever, Sept. 2025. 1,000 U.S. consumers.
of calls to home service businesses are answered by a person.
Invoca, Home Services Lead Conversion Benchmarks Report, July 2026. Part of a 70M+ call dataset.
of home service phone leads convert on the call.
Invoca, Home Services Lead Conversion Benchmarks Report, July 2026.
of inbound calls to residential HVAC shops came outside weekday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in June 2025.
ServiceTitan, State of the Trades, June 2026. ServiceTitan customers, not nationally representative.
of consumers would use AI to book an appointment. Among Gen Z, it's 91%.
CallRail, Missed Calls Cost Businesses More Than Ever, Sept. 2025. 1,000 U.S. consumers.
of consumers say companies should disclose when AI is used in customer support.
Vonage consumer AI survey, Nov. 2024. 1,000 U.S. adults.
of consumers use ChatGPT and other AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6% the year before.
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, Feb. 2026. 1,002 U.S. adults.
Our studies
Original research in progress
Our own numbers, from calls our agents answer and tests we run. Each study gets its own article, linked here when it's published.
After-hours booking rates
What happens to booking rates once the office closes, and what it means for a local service business.
Voice AI response time benchmark
We time how fast voice AI answers, from the first ring to the first word, and where dead air shows up during a call.
Missed-call cost calculator
Plug in your missed calls and your average job value to see what's at stake for your trade.
Client case studies
Every case study reports the same four numbers: answer rate, callback rate, after-hours capture value and cost per booked job.
Where do your statistics come from?
Third-party figures come from published studies and surveys, linked in the Source column. Our own studies come from calls our AI phone agents answer and tests we run, and each one explains its method.
Can I cite your data?
Yes. For a third-party figure, cite the original study. For our own studies, link to the article and name Local Voice as the source.
How current are these figures?
Each figure was checked at its source in October 2026. We check again before we use a figure in new work, and the date at the top of this page shows the last full review.
By trade
See what the numbers mean for your trade.
Our industry pages break the data down trade by trade. Or call the demo line and hear an AI phone agent answer.