Google is testing a new feature that would show partial review snippets within the local pack.  The snippets show up both in the regular local pack as well as once someone clicks the “more places” to view the longer list of local businesses.  When the test is active, it shows a short snippet from one of the reviews for each business.

Tom Waddington shared the screen shot on Twitter showing the review snippets.

This test does mean that fewer businesses will be shown on the initial screen when someone views more distances.  But the added preview of the review could result in someone clicking on one of the displayed listings instead of scrolling, since it does give a bit more insight into the potential quality of the business rather than just the review stars themselves.

Waddington suggested that in order for it to be displayed, there was some relevancy to the query required.  He showed another example where only one listing had the review, this time directly in the search results.

This is one of the more useful tests for Google My Business, however the tradeoff is the fact it pushes regular organic down further on the page, and pushes additional pack results further down the page when viewing the expanded pack.