Summarizing the 2017 data on what motivates consumer trust, Robert Levy, president of BrandSpark International, states that “Canadians say their trust in a brand is greatly increased by personal experience, responsiveness, transparency, fair pricing, and the endorsements of other consumers.”
73% of consumers surveyed say it’s important for a company to quickly address serious issues; 56% are more inclined to trust companies that share detailed product information; and 49% are more trusting of sites that include unfiltered customer reviews, according to the 2017 BrandSpark Most Trusted data.
Levy positions the survey data as a tool for consumers but it’s also useful on the business end of things. “Shoppers look to retailers that they trust to deliver great value, strong selection, quality goods, and when online, timely delivery. The BrandSpark Most Trusted Awards give shoppers a chance to see which retailers are trusted by other Canadians,” says Levy. “These endorsements are especially useful for shoppers who don't regularly shop the category – particularly in e-commerce where many shoppers are still discovering the major retail players.”
Brick-and-mortar
BrandSpark points out that “pricing also influences trust as much as product or service quality, with brands that offer consistent and competitive pricing more likely to be perceived as fair and honest.” And that may explain the rankings of conventional retailers this year.
In the combined beauty and personal care category, Canadian consumers trust Shoppers Drug Mart / Pharmaprix most this year. The first runner-up is Walmart. And the 2017 second runner-up (or perhaps the third most trusted brick-and-mortar beauty retailer) is Sephora.
E-commerce
BrandSpark data shows 70% of consumers in Canada shop online every month; and those consumers anticipate doing even more online shopping in the year ahead.
Levy believes that digital retail will eventually mirror physical retail. “As the retailers that Canadian shoppers know and trust continue to build their presence on e-commerce, we expect to see trusted brick and mortar brands become more prominent online,” he says. But, “to succeed in the transition to e-commerce, retailers must deliver online the value and experience that has made them trusted offline, while also meeting the high expectations of online shipping and no hassle customer service and returns set by the e-commerce leader Amazon.”
The most trusted online beauty and personal care retailers seem to be bearing out this scenario already. In the personal care category Amazon is the most trusted e-commerce site. Well.ca is the first runner-up, and Walmart is the second runner-up.
In beauty and personal care, the most trusted e-commerce site of 2107 is Sephora. Amozon comes in second, while Avon takes the third most trusted spot.