#consumer-trust

#consumer-trust

Now more than ever, consumers want to use products and services that align with their values, causes and beliefs. In fact, 87% of consumers buy from organisations that share their own set of values. Because of this, it is essential that brands take notice of what their consumers have to say.

Chef Violet Witchel, creator of the now-viral "dense bean salad," didn't build a 3 million strong social media following by chasing virality. She built it by solving a problem. At a time when protein goals were trending and food prices were rising, she noticed something simple: beans were affordable, high-protein, and meal-prep friendly.

It's not exactly a secret that many advertisers are using generative AI in their marketing, from producing copy to editing images. What isn't always as obvious is exactly when those tools are being used, and when advertisers ought to make AI usage clear to their audiences. Last month, the IAB launched a new framework to standardize when AI in ads should be disclosed.

Viewers are no longer distinguishing between linear and digital - they are choosing to tune in to what they want, where, when and how they want to watch. We must now embrace a multi-currency future, and jointly drive innovation that ensures more accurate and complete measurement approaches. Measurement needs to accurately reflect the reality of audience trends for marketers to effectively allocate their advertising investments and serve the entire ecosystem. And that will require more than one solution.

Just before Christmas, TikTok expanded launched an Intellectual Property Removal Request report, which provides an overview of its cumulative actions to protect intellectual property rights across the app. Between January and June 2025, TikTok removed 30x more products and content through proactive measures (before the product or content appeared on the platform) than was removed after being reported by others or detected after posting.

Five years later, that decline has reached a clear low point. Only 20 percent of Millennials and Gen Z say they trust mortgage professionals to help them make informed decisions. The knowledge gap remains significant, but in an age when information is everywhere, knowledge is no longer the only barrier. The deeper challenge is a lack of trust, and trust cannot be automated or outsourced. It has to be built in community.

Prize draw platforms sit at the intersection of consumer entertainment, payments and regulation. While often perceived as simple promotional products, their commercial viability is shaped by trust, compliance and revenue structure. Digital prize draw businesses occupy a distinct niche in the UK market. Win A Million, which launched in 2025, operates as an online prize draw platform offering both paid and free entry routes.

From a consumer perspective, knowing that if something is made in Europe, there will not be arsenic in it, there's that trust that is important,

The research shows that 41.85% of British respondents consider brand ads on reputable news or magazine websites credible or very credible, while only 14.11% view them as low in credibility.

But, within the iGaming world, trust is essential and in fact what drives engagement and retention. It's also all to do with the payment method, and the way casinos and betting platforms handle security, transparency and speed of all transactions. For instance, the best online casinos that payout do so quickly and efficiently. There are no surprise fees, no high withdrawal requirements and so on. As such, consumers develop trust in the brand and keep coming back.

The January sales drifted back to become the St ­Stephen's Day sales, as the stores decided to cash in right after the Christmas presents were bought and to strike while shoppers still had a bit of cash. The notion of a sale starting before Christmas Day though seemed absurd. Nowadays, those same stores that strictly observed the rules of the shopping game are pulling all sorts of stunts to draw in the footfall. Mid-season sales, pre-Christmas sales and winter sales are all normal.

By activating the feature, I thought I was building up savings in the background. Then I discovered hundreds of transactions, made without my knowledge For years, I was Revolut's biggest cheerleader. As a travel writer, I relied on it for switching currencies with a swipe, avoiding the hidden fees traditional banks may charge. It felt like the future of banking: sleek, fast, user-friendly.

The promised AI revolution in shopping is starting to materialise, with shoppers increasingly trusting agents for personal recommendations ahead of the festive season. Traffic to retail sites from AI tools is expected to surge fivefold year-over-year, with particular boosts on Cyber Monday and Black Friday, according to Adobe. "Traditional models of how consumers react with the web are going out the window," Max Sinclair, Azoma CEO, said. "Intelligent assistants begin to handle browsing, recommendations and purchasing on behalf of users."

All categories are arguably currently witnessing a desire from consumers for the real and tangible. As we enter a new AI-powered age of digital saturation, the physical experience is what matters and cuts through. Research shows younger generations starting to move away from social media, and there's evidence of a more widespread cynicism around digital platforms and services, summed up with the idea of 'enshittification'.

As you browse your social media feeds or check out billboards on a leisurely drive, you might notice a recent phenomenon: Everything seems quite, well, similar. "If you go to the comment section of any viral post right now, all the brands are commenting and they all sound exactly the same," says Rachel Karten, a social media consultant and author of the popular industry newsletter Link In Bio. If you run a business, it's more important than ever to carve out a distinct brand identity-and your brand's voice, or how you express your brand's values, point of view, and attitudes, is key. "Brand voice can be the differentiator when every brand sounds the same," Karten says.

iMAD Research Inc. (https://imad.com), a global market intelligence firm, recently concluded a multi-country study aimed at understanding adoption challenges for smart meter technology in semi-urban and urban business environments. The research revealed critical behavioural insights related to consumer hesitancy, billing trust gaps, and digital readiness among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Founded in 2017 by Kartik Khanna and Abhishek Soni, iMAD Research Inc. operates across the United States, United Kingdom, and India, with over 2.5 million verified respondents globally.

If I'm buying socks, why do you need to know what I had for lunch? It's not relevant at all. So why collect it?

Hyper-personalization-AI's ability to tailor experiences down to the individual level-has become the new norm. For many consumers, these recommendations feel helpful, convenient, and even delightful. Yet, for others, they provoke discomfort, raising questions about just how much these platforms know about us. This paradox is at the heart of a growing debate: Does hyper-personalization build consumer trust and loyalty, or does it erode them by feeling intrusive? And more importantly, how does it shape our purchase intention?

Back Market, the online refurbished tech marketplace, offers buyers who want to save money on electronics (and reduce e-waste) good-as-new products repaired by experts. Starting today, the retailer has taken the process to its first-ever brick-and-mortar store, where buyers can shop for secondhand phones and laptops in person -- just like at an Apple Store. The company's pilot store opened its doors on Wednesday in New York City's Soho neighborhood, inviting consumers to see and touch repaired devices before buying them.