Brand trust trumps discounts and reviews for over 67% of shoppers: survey

Resale value is the least influential factor at 15%, followed by friend recommendations at 26% and product affordability at 30%.

Bengaluru: According to a survey by online marketplace provider Capterra, as many as 67% of consumers prioritized trusted brands when purchasing new products or services online last year, followed by user reviews, discounts and the opinions of influencers.

Resale value is the least influential factor (15%), followed by friend recommendations (26%) and product affordability (30%).

As many as 69% of surveyed consumers use social media platforms to start searching for new products or services.

Meanwhile, 67% of consumers choose online marketplaces to start their online search, followed by search engines (61%), review sites (57%), and individual retailer sites (56%).

Even though social media dominates as a starting point for consumers to start their online searches, 65% of consumers still buy products through e-commerce platforms, followed by individual retailers’ websites or apps (52%).

Digital/mobile wallets have grown in popularity, with 74% of users using them for online transactions. This is followed by 68% of people who prefer credit or debit cards and 49% who still use bank transfers to make payments.

Among surveyed consumers who purchase the same brand, 83% are guided by the quality of products or services, and 65% by price. Additionally, 54% cite loyalty or rewards programs as a deciding factor, and 37% believe that social or political issues are important.

Consumers are motivated to try new brands not only by price (59%), but also by other factors such as quality (73%), online advertising (57%) and recommendations from family and friends (52%).

When it comes to product review sources, 44% of consumers surveyed believe that e-commerce marketplaces are the most reliable sources of product reviews, followed by product review sites (43%), social media platforms (33%), online search engines (35 % ) and friends or family (31). In contrast, 88% of surveyed consumers believe that the number of negative reviews is a critical attribute when deciding to purchase a product.