[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/10\/17\/close-the-consumer-trust-gap-or-risk-sales\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/10\/17\/close-the-consumer-trust-gap-or-risk-sales\/","headline":"Close the consumer trust gap or risk losing holiday sales","name":"Close the consumer trust gap or risk losing holiday sales","description":"When consumers visit your site, do they trust it enough to make a purchase? Tips for improving your site to earn longtime loyalty.","datePublished":"2022-10-17","dateModified":"2024-09-06","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/rafael-lourenco\/#Person","name":"Rafael Lourenco","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/rafael-lourenco\/","identifier":685,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3cc7602fdd0c2776e698e5c18c9ab45e78bb12176023fdc6ddc9337f2e0f4a42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3cc7602fdd0c2776e698e5c18c9ab45e78bb12176023fdc6ddc9337f2e0f4a42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/trust-gap-FTR.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/trust-gap-FTR.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/10\/17\/close-the-consumer-trust-gap-or-risk-sales\/","about":["B2C Commerce",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/","name":"Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q26643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/customer-experience-general\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/e-commerce-solution\/e-commerce-general\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/e-commerce-solution\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/e-commerce\/","name":"E-Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/E-commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q484847"]},"Holiday Articles",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/e-commerce-solution\/m-commerce-mobile-commerce\/","name":"M-commerce: Mobile commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mobile_commerce"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/mobile\/","name":"Mobile Commerce","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mobile_commerce","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1154408"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/retail\/","name":"Retail","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Retail","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q126793"]},"Retail Trends, Data, News"],"wordCount":874,"keywords":["Cybersecurity","E-commerce Customer Experience","Holiday E-commerce","Holiday Retail","Online Shopping","Retail Fraud","Retail Trends"],"articleBody":"With the holidays right around the corner and more than half of consumers planning to spend with caution this season, retailers need to identify every opportunity to attract customers and maximize peak-season revenue.One loophole there\u2019s still time to close: the trust gap related to consumer concerns about fraud when shopping online. Consumers need to know an online shop is legitimate and secure before they’re confident enough to make a purchase.In a recent survey of online shoppers in the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Canada, and Australia, 85% said they\u2019re more likely to shop from trusted websites they recognize, even if that means paying a little more or waiting a bit longer for delivery.Among the same group of online shoppers, 88% said they feel more secure shopping online when websites clearly state their fraud prevention and data privacy measures.There are simple but effective ways to boost customer trust and improve CX in time to welcome holiday shoppers:Audit and test your websiteMake site navigation easyStreamline checkoutShowcase securityNo more bad links or outdated infoBroken links, misspellings, incorrect or missing information, and technical glitches undermine customers\u2019 perception of your website as a reliable place to shop.Now\u2019s the time to test and review all of your site\u2019s pages. If your site is especially large or you have limited resources for auditing and testing, focus on your most popular product and category pages, homepage, and checkout page first.Pay special attention to product information accuracy, to avoid \u201citem not as described\u201d chargebacks from unhappy holiday shoppers. Make sure your shipping and returns policy page is complete up to date and easy for busy holiday shoppers to understand.If any links take customers to pages that have moved or live pages that contain outdated information, either remove those links, redirect them to updated targets, or update the content of the target page.Build consumer trust with easy navigationIf your retail website still uses dropdown navigation menus with second and even third levels, consider supplementing or replacing those tools with filters, so shoppers can easily find what they\u2019re looking for on your site.When shoppers trust that they can move easily around an e-commerce site, they\u2019re more likely to stay, browse, and buy\u2014especially if they\u2019re trying to work through a gift list quickly or take advantage of a sale.Easy site navigation is especially important for earning trust from three groups of shoppers:Mobile users: During the 2021 holiday season, 43% of online purchases were made on smartphones, accounting for $88 billion in sales. The percentage of mobile shoppers will likely be as high or higher this year.Cross-border customers: In the global online shopper survey, 48% said they buy from overseas retailers as well as local ones. If the sites they visit aren\u2019t localized for their language, the process is already more challenging than buying local; clear navigation helps smooth their way to check out.People who are brand-new to shopping online: Thirteen percent of the shoppers surveyed said they made their very first online purchases because of the pandemic. In developing e-commerce markets like Mexico, where 66% of the population shopped online as of 2021, there are still many people who have yet to make their first online purchase. Make the shopping experience easy for these new customers to earn longtime loyalty.      ‘Tis the season: A Black Friday e-commerce checklist                Black Friday can make or break a year for a retailer. Prepare for the surge of holiday shoppers with this e-commerce checklist.      Hassle-free checkoutNo one likes hassles during checkout, and 35% of the online shopper survey group admitted they\u2019ve abandoned carts when the website\u2019s checkout process was too long or complicated. At the same time, customers are more likely to come back to stores whose checkout process is fast and easy.One way to reduce checkout friction and earn website trust is to add autofill functionality. This lets customers skip the tedium of entering their address and payment data, which is especially welcome for people shopping via mobile.Another way to maintain customer confidence is to add a guest checkout option rather than requiring all customers to create an account before they can make a purchase. Thirty-two percent of consumers polled said they\u2019ve abandoned online carts because of websites\u2019 account-creation requirements.Show off security to earn consumer trustCustomers look for signs that the sites they visit are protected against fraud, cyberattacks, and data breaches. That\u2019s especially true for older consumers — those over age 50 who came of age in an era when internet users were warned frequently about the dangers of sharing any personal information online.To earn their trust, and their repeat business, add your security badges, privacy policy links, and customer ratings in the footer of your website, so customers can find reassurance on every page.Invest some time now in identifying areas of your online shop where you can make improvements that enhance trust. The result can be more confident shoppers, more orders, and more revenue during this holiday season, as well as more repeat purchases even after the holiday season ends.  Flexible. Agile. Future-proofed.The power of hybrid, composable commerce is real.Discover real-life examples of success HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2022","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"17","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/\/10\/\/17\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Close the consumer trust gap or risk losing holiday sales","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2022\/10\/17\/close-the-consumer-trust-gap-or-risk-sales\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]