Over half of consumers say they would stop purchasing permanently if a brand breached their trust, a new study has revealed.
The study by Adobe examined the relationship between consumers and brands by surveying over 1000 consumers and 200 senior businesses leaders, with the results showing a strong correlation between brand trust and consumer behaviour.
Along with 54 per cent of consumers saying they will stop purchasing from brands that break their trust, 72 per cent plan to spend at least $700 more per year with brands they trust, and 81 per cent of Australian business leaders say that earning a consumers trust has become harder since the pandemic.
Simon Tate, President of Asia Pacific Adobe, said Australian consumers’ experiences over the past two years and rise of the digital economy are combining to shift the fundamental drivers of brand trust.
“More than ever, trust relies on brands’ ability to make a positive impact, use data responsibly and deliver digital experiences on customers’ terms.”
When it comes to digital experiences, only 16 per cent of surveyed Australians favoured that experience, compared to 35 per cent of APAC consumers. This compares to 32 per cent who say that in person experiences are more important as trust enablers, and 48 per cent that say that both are equally important.
Thomas Barta, co-author of path-breaking leadership book ‘The 12 Powers of a Marketing Leader’, said customers enjoy a personalised experience but worry about sharing their data.
“Better personalisation and privacy may sound like competing targets but it doesn’t have to be that way. As Adobe’s latest research reveals, leading marketers are already providing highly personalised customer experiences, while using customer data responsibly.”
The study showed that 74 per cent of consumers are concerned about how their data is being used and 50 per cent believe the benefits of providing their data to companies are greater than the risks.
“When it comes to data privacy, the top spot for a company doing it exceptionally well, is still up for grabs. To get there, customers don’t ask for too much. 83 per cent of Australian consumers simply want to decide how firms used their data. 86 per cent desire more transparency, and 63 per cent asked that firms use their data only for what really matters: making the customer experience better,” said Barta.