This is How to Earn Trust in eCommerce 2024

Even when I use all of my fingers and toes, I can’t count how many times friends and family have sent me screenshots of a product they found online with the caption, “Is this website legit?” Recently, it’s been happening more than usual. People have no trust in eCommerce, especially when it comes to smaller or newer brands.

Typically, my people reach out because they’ve found something they want to buy that seems like it has value, but they’re not eager to give out their credit card info without 100% certainty that they’ll receive the product as described… or they think they may not receive it at all.  

When this happens, I usually hop online and go through a quick checklist.

• Is the product price comparable to others like it?
• Does the website rank SERPs?
• Can I easily find positive brand reviews? 
• Does the online store link to any social media accounts? If so, are they populated with real followers and at least some engagement?
• Does the eCommerce brand have a decent BBB rating? 

At this point, if everything above — which is the bare minimum required at this stage — checks out, I respond with my findings. Sometimes, I give the green light. Other times, I explain why I think they should steer clear. Note that all of this happens in less than a minute. 

So, what happens when your shoppers don’t have a sleuth friend like me to delegate due diligence? Many times, they’ll move away and buy from a seller with more trust signals. 

Moreover, what if your shoppers do have this kind of friend and your store is, in fact, legit, but you don’t have these trust signals? The answer is the same: they’re going to buy from someone else. Even if your products are being found easily, trust is crucial for online sales. 

As you read this article, you’ll come to understand why there is a lack of trust in eCommerce, and how to establish consumer trust on your website (and at all of your brand touchpoints). The tips are easy-to-read and immediately actionable.

Here’s what’s in store: 

• What is eCommerce Trust?
• How Important is Trust in eCommerce?
• Actionable Steps to Increase Your Online Store’s Trust
  • 1. Create the Right Path for Online Shoppers
  • 2. People Don’t Trust Brands — It’s All About You!
  • 3. Be Proactive: Inspire Trust in Your Website
  • 4. Deliver an Experience Worth Trusting with Privacy Measures
  • 5. Stay Active on Social Media
  • 6. Invest in Video Content
  • 7. Include Real Customer Reviews & Testimonials
  • 8. Use Google Places to Strengthen your Inventory Page
  • 9. Make One-Click Buying Work for You
• Final Thoughts

What is eCommerce Trust?

eCommerce trust is the difference between a visitor bouncing away from your store and making a sale. It is the level of confidence that consumers have in an online store or marketplace as they consider making a purchase.

Trust is an important factor in eCommerce because customers need to feel confident that their personal and financial information is secure. They don’t want to get scammed — and they want to receive the products they have ordered when they expect them.

Today, trust is more important than ever for online merchants because shoppers are influenced by so many bad apples. The reputation of your eCommerce business, the security measures in place to protect your shoppers’ personal and financial information, and the policies and guarantees you offer to customers play a major role in your success.

Just How Important is Trust in eCommerce? 

There are so many ways that brands can fail their customers. Think about all those companies who have been caught out for being less than transparent with their practices: Papa John’s Pizza buried how much money they were making from franchisees, Adobe Photoshopped Jennifer Lawrence’s face for a magazine shoot and then blamed it on an intern. 

And, last year Amazon shipped Donald Trump products in boxes that read “From Mexico,” despite the fact that the products were not made in or shipped from Mexico. These examples show how quickly online trust can erode when a brand does something shady or unethical—and once that happens, it’s difficult for people to forget about it.

You’ve read the anecdotes. And, I hope you’re convinced. But, in case you love numbers as much as I do, let’s look at some facts.

More than 80% of shoppers conduct online research before making a purchase. So, you need to think ahead and predict what questions shoppers will have as well as how they will view you in comparison to your competitors. 

And, 25% of online shoppers will leave a website over something as simple as seeing that their local currency is not offered. You have to appeal to your market at every touchpoint. 

Conclusion: Consumer trust is critical for online sellers. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Actionable Steps to Increase Your Online Store’s Trust

If you want to actually sell your products and scale your business long-term, trust is essential. So, how can you make sure your store and products appear trustworthy? 

1. Create the Right Path for Online Shoppers

There’s a reason why people say, “The best way to get someone to do something is by making it easy for them.” This applies to online shopping as well, but with a twist: because it’s so much easier for shoppers to go elsewhere, you have to make it harder for them not to choose your store.

The first step in doing this is creating a clear path for shoppers to follow when they land on your site. In other words, make sure there are no obstacles in their way that could distract them from completing their purchase (like pop-up ads or irrelevant product recommendations). The second step is making sure that every page loads quickly so that customers don’t experience any lag time between pages or have time to lose interest and move on before they find what they’re looking for.

2. People Don’t Trust Brands — It’s All About You!

Simply put, people don’t trust brands. Instead, it’s all about you and the relationships you nurture. 

Think about this for a second: What do you think of when you hear the words “brand?” Do you think of a logo? Do you think of the color scheme, or perhaps fonts? Well, guess what—the average online shopper doesn’t really care about any of that stuff! In fact, most consumers don’t even remember the brand when they’re done shopping.

That’s why it’s so important for companies to put their customers first and focus on providing them with a great experience. This can be done by looking at what people need, then thinking up ways on how your company could provide those solutions (or at least make them easier). 

For example: If someone needs help getting started with something they bought from your store, then provide them with some tips or video tutorials in an easy-to-find location within your site. With this, your customers can get going quickly and efficiently without a customer service call.

3. Be Proactive: Inspire Trust in Your Website

Let’s look at a few easy ways to make sure your website is a proactive trust-building machine. 

• Use a secure checkout. It’s important to have a secure connection between your website and your customer’s information. This means encrypting their data so that it can’t be intercepted by any hackers or other nefarious actors on the internet.
• Make it easy to contact you. If someone wants to get in touch with you, make sure their options are clear and easy to find so they don’t have to hunt around on your site looking for them.
• Don’t make it too hard (or impossible) for people to find your privacy policy or terms of service pages —both are important documents that lay out how you will use the customer’s information, as well as how they can request that their personal data be deleted from your system should they choose not to do business with you anymore (or if they want more information after making a purchase).
• Add a trust badge – If your store is hosted on Shopify, another easy way to make sure your store appears trustworthy is to install and configure a trust badge app. This helps build confidence in your brand because it shows that other companies have vouched for you (a seal), or that there’s a third party involved (a badge).

4. Deliver an Experience Worth Trusting with Privacy Measures

The first step to a trustworthy online store is to use SSL to encrypt sensitive data. And, since your shoppers share everything from their dress size to their credit card number, all of the data you collect should be considered sensitive. 

If you’re not already, start using encryption everywhere. If you’re not sure how to get started, we recommend the following:

• Get an SSL certificate from a recognized authority like Let’s Encrypt or Comodo (use their free products if possible).
• Add a strong SSL configuration to all pages on your site that require it (not just checkout pages). The stronger the better—make sure to enable HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) and OCSP Stapling as well.
• Use secure forms and server-side validation when collecting sensitive information such as credit card numbers or passwords (hint: it’s called “masked input”). This will prevent people from being able to see what they type in fields on your website by making them look like asterisks instead of actual characters—the most common example is when someone types their username into something like Facebook before entering it into another service where they may have been tricked into giving away their actual username and password. 

Phishing scammers often pretend they are a brand itself, but really just want access to customer accounts so they can sell them online for money (or whatever else scammers do with stolen information like usernames/passwords).  Make sure your customers know that you will never reach out and ask for their passwords. Shoot an email reminder from time to time that encourages your customers not to share their information with anyone. 

5. Stay Active on Social Media

Interacting with followers on social media is an easy way to establish and grow trust. It’s also a great way to build brand awareness, loyalty, and credibility, as well as drive sales for your eCommerce store. 

Ready to own your style all summer long? Jumpstart your summer wardrobe by using code “SUMMER” now – 5/22 to get an extra 25% off during our Own Your Style sale! Exclusions apply. https://t.co/YTB4QAeXfz pic.twitter.com/G4Ro1iBxvU

— Macy's (@Macys) May 20, 2022

Plus, did you know that the typical social media user now spends about 15% of their waking life on one platform or another? — Get in front of consumers where they are by leveraging Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, or a combination in your marketing strategy. 

Here are three quick tips on how you can use social media for trust-building:

1. Create an entertaining Facebook Live video or Instagram story that shows your products in action (for example, an unboxing)
2. Run contests on Facebook with something like “share this post and we’ll pick 1 person out of all the sharers who will win the xxx prize”
3. Share product reviews from customers who love what they bought from you

6. Invest in Video Content

Video content makes up a majority of the most engaging content on the web. And if you’re trying to sell a product, it’s a great way to show your products in action—and demonstrate how to use them.

You don’t need to hire an expensive production company or filmmaker; the best videos are often those that look like they were produced by amateurs and shot on smartphones.

Don’t overthink the process. Effective video content only needs two things: an attention-grabbing hook and fresh, engaging content for people who already know about your business.

7. Include Real Customer Reviews & Testimonials

We’re going to explore a topic that you might think is obvious: customer reviews.

Customer reviews and testimonials are important for building trust in eCommerce because they provide third-party validation and verification of claims. These days, it’s not enough for a company to say its product works or looks good; customers need more than just the company’s word that its products are awesome.

Rather, consumers are looking for independent sources to verify this information. This doesn’t only apply to physical goods—it also applies to services! 

So, eCommerce websites should include customer comments wherever possible (such as on product pages), but be sure not all comments are positive ones; some “negative” feedback should also be included because it prevents people from being disappointed with unrealistic, high expectations. 

Recommended Reading: Shopify Chargebacks: How to Avoid & Manage Payment Reversals

8. Use Google Places to Strengthen your Inventory Page

In order to strengthen your inventory page, you need to know what a Google Places page is.

A Google Places page is an extension of your website that allows people to search for products in the area and get directions. If a customer wants to find out if you have something in stock or not, they can type it into the search bar on their phone and get an answer right away!

For example: Say I’m looking for shoes online. I type “shoe store” into Google Maps’ search bar and it gives me all the nearby shoe stores. Now I can click on one of those stores and see a detailed description of what they have available (including pictures), along with hours, address, etc. 

If you sell goods in person, a Google Places listing is a must-have. Local shoppers may decide to buy online or at your physical store — either way, an optimized listing can boost your product visibility. 

It is especially helpful for retail operations with multiple locations to update Google Places listings for each location. 

9. Make One-Click Buying Work for You

Make it easy for people to buy from you.

The easiest way to get someone to make a purchase is by making them believe they’re in the right place and that they’re doing the right thing. One-click buying means your customers don’t have to think about whether or not they want your product; they just need one click and boom, done!

For Shopify sellers, easy-to-install apps can come in handy here. Remember: you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. 

Final Thoughts

Building trust can be easy when you know how. Trust is a key component of eCommerce — you only need to follow a few simple steps to build trust with your audience, which can lead to increased sales and brand loyalty.

Above all, vow to keep it real.

Another way to earn trust, which we didn’t mention above, is to make sure that all of your tracking numbers are sent to your payment provider as soon as they become available. This can increase trust and decrease holds, disputes, and chargebacks during the fulfillment process because it ensures that your payment processor knows when you’ve shipped your items.

Are you having a problem with PayPal chargebacks in Shopify? We can help! download our free guide & PayPal dispute resolution templates today.

If you find yourself in need of more assistance than a template or guide can offer, take a look at Kount and Midigator. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did.