Two in three APAC consumers say they will stop purchasing from brands that breach their trust: Adobe study

66% of APAC consumers said that they would stop purchasing from brands that break their trust, and a significant majority of purchasers said they plan to spend at least $1000 more each year from trusted brands, as per a recent study conducted by Adobe.

Indian consumers stand out here as 48% said they will spend over $1000 on trusted brands, more than their peers in South East Asia (29%), Australia (14%) and New Zealand (8%).

Adobe has announced the 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.  

When asked whether consumers consider digital or in-person experiences to be more important in driving trust, a little more than a third of APAC consumers (35%) favoured digital experiences in comparison to 23% 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%) 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% 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,” said 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”.

As per the study, brands’ use of personal data is a key driver of mistrust among APAC consumers. The research reveals that 85% of the consumers are concerned with how their data is being used, and almost half are ‘very concerned’.

Only 38% of consumers believe the benefits of providing their data to companies are greater than the risks, with 50% 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% who would stop purchasing from a company that used their data without permission, and 67% 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% of APAC business leaders believe consumers trust them to keep their data safe and use it responsibly, and 76% 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,” said Vishal Subharwal, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of eCommerce 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,” Subharwal said. 

APAC consumers also outlined a number of factors that can both increase and decrease their trust in brands and enhance the digital experience, with technology playing a prominent role. Almost three in four (72%) say their trust in brands increases when technology is used to personalise their experience. 

However, a similar proportion (74%) say poor personalisation erodes trust, with top examples including ‘contacting me in a creepy way’ and sending irrelevant ads or offers. A slightly higher fraction of Indian consumers (76%) say poor personalisation decreases their trust in brands, with close to half of them highlighting that it significantly harms their trust.

The brands’ drive to innovate with new technologies at speed must be balanced with the need to carefully build consumer trust in those innovations as well. 95% of Indian consumers trust AI to improve their experience, which is significantly higher than their counterparts in South East Asia (86%), Australia (57%), New Zealand (54%).

Moreover, Indian business leaders are optimistic that AI will improve their customers’ experiences (98%) and increase efficiency at work. 

The full Adobe Trust Report 2022: APAC can be downloaded by clicking here.

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