7 Consumer Behaviour Trends for eCommerce: #3 “I care about a stranger’s opinion.”

“I care just as much about a stranger’s opinion as I do my friend’s.”

In business, they say your reputation is everything. This couldn’t be more true in today’s digital age, where just one brand blunder can alienate customers, break trust, and stop consumers from buying from your brand. Customers pay attention to brand reputation, and most decide to take (or not take) action based on what they hear about a company.

Reputation management may have once been a passive tactic that brands used only if something went wrong at their organisation. But today, brands of all sizes must have a proactive reputation management plan that prioritises ongoing communication and transparency if they want to get customers to trust and buy from them.

“Customers pay attention to brand reputation, and most decide to take (or not take) action based on what they hear about a company.”
Flora Frichou, Senior Content Strategist at Trustpilot

To see which parts of a brand’s reputation matter most to customers, we surveyed nearly 1,700 online shoppers from major markets around the world, and found that:

Online reputation is the No. 1 way to improve trust with customers. Over 93% said they read reviews before buying online from an unfamiliar company.
Nearly 62% of online shoppers perform a search for the company when unfamiliar with it and few are likely to buy if they see negative reviews on the first page of the search results.
Nearly 48% of online shoppers had recommended a brand to others because of its stance on social issues.
Almost 83% of Gen Zers, the up-and-coming generation of consumers, said they’d recommended others stop purchasing from a brand with a bad reputation.If your brand wants to connect with new consumers, keep existing customers, and build lasting brand affinity, loyalty, and trust, building a strong brand reputation is key.

Learn more about Trustpilot.