trust: the new currency of the consumer economy
description: 3 people holding hands as they climb a mountain, demonstrating trust | source: canva pro
in an uncertain world, characterised by political instability, financial hardship and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), people are looking for genuine connections.
brands have a key role to play in building and maintaining real relationships with consumers, especially in today’s climate, where consumers have less spending power and are more intentional with their purchasing decisions.
in 2025, 88% of consumers consider trust as important as price and quality when making a purchase and 87% of consumers said they were willing to pay more for items from brands they trust, making price secondary to how trustworthy a company is perceived to be.
trust is something brands must earn, through consistency, social proof and authenticity.
so, what does this look like in practice?
consistency
designers discussing branding and colour schemes at a desk | source: canva pro
68% of businesses say that having consistent branding has contributed at least 10% to their revenue growth. being consistent with your offering, messaging and visual identity makes you more memorable, which build trust.
according to psychology, humans develop preferences for things that are familiar to them. think of some of the most memorable logos – apple, disney, nike – they have remained consistent over decades, embedding themselves within people’s minds, deeming them trustworthy through familiarity.
consequently, inconsistent branding and messaging reduces credibility and raises suspicion from consumers, making them less likely to purchase from you. In fact, uniformly presented brands are 3.5 times more likely to achieve excellent brand visibility. without a coherent visual identity or tone of voice, consumers won’t remember or trust you.
when your tone, messaging and values differ across touch points, customers become confused and skeptical. while messaging should be adapted across platforms, if your social media is casual and fun, your website is strictly full of formal corporate jargon and your email campaigns use sales-focused language, consumers may perceive you as unorganised and untrustworthy.
but consistency isn’t just about visuals and messaging, it’s also about how you follow through on what you say you’re going to do. for example, if your messaging is centred around acting on consumer feedback, but you don’t ever acknowledge any comments you get about how you could improve, customers will start to lose trust. when brands listen to what their audiences are saying and actually act on it, they signal to customers that they are genuine, building trust that turns into repeat custom.
social proof
a person showing something on their phone screen to a friend | source: canva pro
almost 50% of shoppers give online reviews the same weight as a friend’s advice and 53% of customers will recommend a brand they fully trust to others, highlighting the significance of having social proof.
customers aren’t willing to just take a brand’s word for it anymore, they want to hear from real customers what their experiences with a brand have been, whether negative or positive.
in fact, negative reviews actually provide an opportunity for brands to reflect on real-world feedback and offer solutions, which builds credibility amongst consumers. 84% of people trust brands who are honest about their mistakes.
lots of brands overlook the importance of social proof, but it can be a quick and easy way to gain credibility and attract new customers. making it as simple as possible for satisfied customers to share positive reviews and recommend your business to others is a quick win that can be implemented in simple steps, like ensuring your business’s google reviews are set up or sending a review link after purchase.
consumers consider user-generated content (UGC), such as reviews, photos and videos from everyday customers, as 50% more trustworthy than posts directly from a brand. as consumers become fatigued with endless influencer sponsorships and adverts, UGC has become a pivotal marketing tool for brands, with a recent study finding UGC content is 9.8 times more impactful than influencer content when it comes to making purchasing decisions.
people want to buy from other people, real people, who haven’t been paid extortionate sums of money in exchange for a favourable review of a product or service. especially given the rise of AI and even AI influencers, people are more likely to trust and value honest reviews from actual customers who have spent their own money to buy something.
as it becomes harder to distinguish between what’s real anymore, testimonials from verified customers are one way to gain real trust in a world full of paid promotions and manufactured content.
authenticity
two people shaking hands outside while rays from the sun are visible in the background | source: canva pro
one of the foundations of building trust is knowing exactly who your target audience is and what their preferences and motivations are, offering authentic content which will appeal to them.
consumers can detect performative authenticity a mile away, with a poll finding 20% of people have unfollowed brands on social media for perceiving them as inauthentic.
driven by the prospect of virality, brands are guilty of jumping on trends that have proven successful for other businesses, often at the expense of compromising on their core values and messaging, which comes across as inauthentic.
a prominent example of this is the ‘apology statement’ trend, where brands from across all sectors shared sneaky product and service promotions disguised as formal, corporate apologies, which are usually reserved for serious organisational issues.
one brand who completely missed the mark with their apology statement was the department for education (DfE), who used this trend to boast about how much money and time its initiatives had saved working parents, quickly receiving backlash and criticism from teachers and parents for being tone-deaf and ignoring the real-world experiences of working parents.
ultimately, the Dfe example serves as a warning to brands that virality must not supersede values. brands must resist the temptation of imitating successful trends if they do not align with their core messaging or beliefs of their audience.
younger consumers in particular value authenticity from brands. 90% of millennials consider authenticity important when making purchasing decisions. this demographic in particular has grown tired of the polished, corporate posts favoured by brands, instead preferring real, organic content that humanises a brand and the people behind it.
one increasingly popular, cost-effective avenue to authenticity is involving employees in the content creation process, a phenomenon known as employee generated content (EGC). this type of content shows the faces and personalities behind a brand, providing a sneak peek into the daily lives and experiences of employees.
a great example of a brand who has championed EGC is sisters and seekers, a clothing business who have utilised social media, especially tiktok, to create funny, relatable content such as office ‘outfits of the day’ and ‘day in the life’ vlogs by different team members. this behind the scenes, employee-driven content allows customers to feel as if they are included in a brand’s journey, building a sense of community and strengthening trust.
a competitive advantage
in such uncertain times, as the lines between human and AI generated content are becoming increasingly blurred, trust is quickly becoming the main currency of the consumer economy.
almost 9 out of 10 consumers value trust as much as price and quality, often being the deciding factor when choosing to purchase something from you over a competitor offering something similar or cheaper. gaining trust is an important competitive advantage for brands in an increasingly competitive landscape.
people don’t just want to be sold products or services, they want to build relationships with brands they can trust, who are true to their word and whose values align with their own.
