Consumers who shop on e-commerce platforms trust them more than the companies selling their goods through those digital channels, a new survey from Chubb has revealed.
This trust gap is most evident among the growing segment of shoppers who have embraced social media commerce sites, with 85% saying they trust social media marketplaces.
That’s in contrast to the companies that sell their goods through this channel. A significant majority of e-sellers don’t trust social media commerce sites when it comes to managing inventory (75%), handling refunds and returns (69%), shipping and fulfillment (67%), payment processing (65%), and security and privacy (58%).
These are among the key findings in Crossing the e-commerce trust divide, a global survey of consumers and e-sellers commissioned by Chubb and conducted by iResearch Services. Among consumers who shop online through both e-commerce and social media platforms, three out of four report they have experienced financial fraud while more than half have had payments lost due to glitches. More than two in five say they frequently receive damaged goods.
“Whether it’s on social media or on e-commerce platforms, the customer journey must be simple, easy and give the consumer confidence – their trust is fragile,” says Amy McNeece, Senior Vice President, Digital Consumer Partnerships for Chubb in North America
“Delivery issues, damaged products and online scams can all shatter consumer trust in an instant, and customer loyalty is critical in the age of digital commerce,” she adds.
Regional Differences
The study also shows regional differences, with consumers in Latin America purchasing from e-commerce platforms more frequently than those in North America, Europe and Asia.
One in four (25%) of Latin American respondents shop online several times a week – twice the rate of consumers in other parts of the world. In addition, nearly three-quarters visit and purchase from e-commerce platforms at least several times a month compared to 62% of North American, 59% of European and 56% of Asian respondents.
According to Gabriel Lazaro, Executive Vice President, and Head of Digital for Chubb’s international general insurance business, “Latin America’s fast-paced online shopping reveals a savvy digital consumer.”
He adds: “This has been driven by mobile and social media leapfrog behaviors during the last decade. The emerging middle-class consumer has access, thanks to e-commerce platforms, to a wider and broader range of services than through traditional channels.”
Payment security tops list of concerns
Among the other key findings, the survey has revelaed that payment security is considered the most important thing in e-commerce. Nearly eight in 10 consumers globally say the security of the payment platform is their top concern.
Heightened trust in social media marketplaces is not limited to Gen Z, or women. The generations born after the Baby Boomers – Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X all tend to be more comfortable with social media commerce than with other sales channels.
Interestingly, men tend to use social media platforms for shopping more than women, and by a considerable gap too, of 61% to 31%. Gen Z, the youngest age group surveyed, shop through social media at twice the rate of Gen X shoppers Latin American consumers are the most frequent users of online stores among the regions surveyed.
Insurance is the one area where consumers and e-sellers are aligned. They both want a more secure end-to-end shopping experience with a majority of consumers saying they would be willing to add one percent of the price of the items they buy, to protect purcahses
“The availability of online insurance can contribute to building and maintaining trust. That’s particularly true for smaller businesses that need to think about how to build and protect their brands and get repeat customers,” McNeece adds.
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