Adobe has announced results from a study of more than 5,000 Asia Pacific consumers and 900 business leaders which finds a strong correlation between brand trust and consumer behaviour. Among APAC consumers, 66 per cent say they will stop purchasing from brands that break their trust, while 40 per cent plan to spend at least US$ 1000 more each year with trusted brands. Indian consumers stand out here as 48 per cent say they will spend over US$ 1000 on trusted brands, more than their peers in South East Asia (29 per cent), Australia (14 per cent) and New Zealand (eight per cent).
When asked whether they consider digital or in-person experiences to be more important in driving trust, a little more than a third of APAC consumers (35 per cent) favoured digital experiences in comparison to 23 per cent who say that in-person experiences are more important for enabling trust. India leads in comparison to other regions in APAC with maximum consumers (47 per cent) who prefer digital as opposed to in-person experiences.
Despite the importance of building trust with consumers, the APAC business leaders in the report suggest that earning trust is increasingly tricky, with 87 per cent saying that it has become harder since the onset of the pandemic.
“Trust is a non-negotiable driver of brand growth in today’s digital economy,” says Prativa Mohapatra, Vice President and Managing Director, Adobe India.
“With evolving consumer habits and demands, brands have increasingly realised that every experience has the potential to earn or lose customer trust and determine brand loyalty. Personal customer experience inspires trust and therefore it is imperative for brands to respect and protect customer data and use it wisely to deliver relevant and personalised customer experiences,” added Mohapatra.
Brands’ use of personal data is a key driver of mistrust among APAC consumers. The research reveals that 85 per cent of the consumers are concerned with how their data is being used, and almost half are ‘very concerned’. Only 38 per cent of consumers believe the benefits of providing their data to companies are greater than the risks, with 50 per cent of Indian consumers agreeing with this.
The majority of APAC consumers also say they’ll stop purchasing from brands if they experience data governance failures. This includes 68 per cent who would stop purchasing from a company that used their data without permission, and 67 per cent who would do the same if they experienced a data breach. In India, more than 60% opined that they will stop purchasing from a brand that doesn’t provide the personal experiences they value.
Despite this clear message from consumers, 95 per cent of APAC business leaders believe consumers trust them to keep their data safe and use it responsibly, and 76 per cent say the benefits customers receive from companies collecting their data outweigh the risks.
“Customers are willing to provide personal information if it improves the product or service offering and ultimately leads to a better consumer experience,” says Vishal Subharwal, Chief Marketing Officer and Head, E-commerce and Digital business, HDFC Life.
“In HDFC Life’s case, instead of having to scan various documents or source information from third-parties, customers are happy to provide that to us, or authorise access, which we can use to save them time. It is a very fine balance, and consumers want something in return when sharing data with businesses. As long as they are aware of how their data is used, assured of its security and confident it won’t be used for any other purposes, they’re generally quite comfortable to do so,” says Subharwal.
