Trustworthiness impacts e-commerce sales, report finds

Monday, March 26, 2018 - 10:33 by Graham Miller

Businesses which want to sell more products via safe shopping online need to win the trust of customers, according to a new study from PushON.

Internet Retailing reports that 68 per cent of respondents said they would happily splash more cash on e-commerce sites if they knew they could trust them to provide in-depth product info and representative pictures.

Building trust is not just about ensuring that sites are safe and secure, but also that they are capable of competing with bricks and mortar stores in terms of the quality of the experience. And the majority of consumers are concerned that they do not get the most accurate portrayal of products when they shop online.

Study spokesperson, Sam Rutley, said that the rise of m-commerce could help overcome this, especially now that augmented reality (AR) technology was entering into the retail sector.

AR can be used to let customers get an idea of how a product will look in situ when they get it home, rather than having to imagine this according to static 2D images. This is seen as something that will enhance safe shopping online on smartphones and further fuel the rise of m-commerce.

The good news is that the study also suggests that a lot of retailers are getting it right when it comes to selling via the web. Sixty seven per cent of people questioned in the survey said that they had enjoyed an entirely mishap-free relationship with e-commerce so far, which should wipe away doubts about the reliability of online outlets.

Fifty seven per cent praised the research tools that are available online, which go above and beyond what is achievable in-store. So if retailers can boost their trustworthiness, online growth will continue and this segment will further shape the retail sector.