Study: Content, page loads reduce brand trust

While online security is important when it comes to building consumer trust, one new study indicates online security is only part of the trust-building exercises at which brands need to become fluent. According to Neustar researchers the top three reasons shoppers distrust brands are: inaccurate online content (91%), site downtime (88%) and consumer identification/authentication processes (75%).

“In our always-on, always-connected world, a brand’s digital storefront may be the first and only touchpoint a customer has with a company,” said Lisa Joy Rosner, chief marketing officer at Neustar. “Discerning customers expect a brand’s website to offer them accurate, real-time information, whenever and wherever they want it. On top of that, customers demand that all of the information they share with a brand is retained in a safe and secure manner.”

Some interesting findings from the “What Erodes Trust in Digital Brands” study include:

• 78% of consumers ‘worry about brand security’ because their online performance is sluggish
• 69% have left a site because of security concerns
• 63% distrust brands who’ve had data breaches
• 50% have negative views of brands up to a year post-breach
• 55% distrust brands that don’t use two-factor authentication