Retail trust outlook: what's driving trust in 2018 - insights from ACRS' Trust Index.

1. Paolo De Leon
Research Consultant
ACRS Research Unit
RETAIL TRUST OUTLOOK:
What’s Driving Retail Trust in 2018

2. IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER TRUST
Sources: Singh, et al. 2015; Guenzi, et al., 2009; PwC 2018; Deloitte 2017
Consumer trust is the emotional security obtained
from fulfilled expectations and beliefs that an
organisation is reliable, dependable, and safe.
35%
of consumers ranked trust
in the brand among their
top three reasons
influencing them to shop at
a particular retailer
52%
of consumers indicated
trust as a reason they are
loyal to a brand

3. TRUST IN BUSINESSES
CONTINUES TO DECLINE
of employees were unsure or
perceived that their companies
neglected building trust
of directors felt their boards
had a proactive approach
to building trust
Sources: Edelman’s 2018 Trust Barometer; KPMG 2018; Deloitte 2017; PwC 2017
52%
48%
45%
53% 52% 53%
2016 2017 2018
Australia Global Average
AVERAGE PUBLIC TRUST IN BUSINESSES
of consumers would go
elsewhere if given reason
not to trust a business
87%
68%
48%

4. PRESENTATION OUTLINE
ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model1
State of trust in the retail industry in Australia2
Drivers of trust in the retail industry in Australia3

5. ACRS CONSUMER RETAIL TRUST MODEL
WHAT
Quantitative research
WHERE
Online surveys
WHO
Nationally representative
sample of Australians
APPROACH

6. WHAT’S THE
STATE OF
TRUST IN
AUSTRALIAN
INDUSTRIES?

7. “The behaviour of other firms in the
industry will have an influence of the
perceived trustworthiness of any one firm.
– Professor David Vines,
Emeritus Professor of Economics
at the University of Oxford

8. INDUSTRY TRUST
5.9
6.7 6.5
6.0
5.5
4.7
Average Food &
beverage
Retail Media &
entertainment
Automotive Financial
services
Source: ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018

9. RETAIL TRUST
6.5
6.9 6.9 6.8 6.7 6.7 6.4
6.1
5.7
Industry
Average
Supermarkets Other specialty
stores
Department
stores
Homeware
stores
Clothing,
footwear, &
accessory
stores
Discount
department
stores
Discount
variety stores
Online only
retailers
Source: ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018

10. SUPERMARKETS
CLOTHING,
FOOTWEAR, &
ACCESSORIES
ONLINE ONLY
RETAILERS
RETAIL

11. WHAT’S DRIVING
RETAIL TRUST?

12. TRUST SCORE
6.5
RETAIL: TRUST MODEL
Work quickly &
efficiently
10%
Policies that favour
customers’ best
interests
KEY DRIVERS OF TRUST
Solve customer
problems (e.g.
returns or refunds)
Organised to easily find
products & services
Solve customer
problems
Give honest advice,
even if they don’t
make a sale
64%
36%
22%
22%
20%
14%
13%
STORES
EMPLOYEES
Source: ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018; Note: Percentages may not add up due to rounding

13. Source: PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2018; National Retail Federation
For each
company
closing stores,
2.7 are opening stores
WHAT’S DRIVING
SUPERMARKET
TRUST?

14. SUPERMARKET: TRUST MODEL
Source: ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018
Policies that favour
customers’ best interests
Solve customer problems
(e.g. returns or refunds)
Organised to easily find
products & services
Give honest advice,
even if they don’t make
a sale
Will not distribute
personal information
without consent
70%
16%
14%
EMPLOYEES STORES
INFO.
SECURITY
KEY DRIVERS OF TRUST
25%
24%
21%
6%
7%
TRUST SCORES
6.5
SUPERMARKETS
INDUSTRY AVERAGE
6.9

15. SUPERMARKET: BUILDING TRUST
19%
of customer satisfaction
was driven by customer
service and
accessibility of staff
40%
of shoppers used the
same supermarket
because they are familiar
with the store layout
23%
increase in new grocery
online shoppers
between March 2017-18
Sources: Canstar Blue 2018; Nielsen 2018

16. WHAT’S
DRIVING
CLOTHING,
FOOTWEAR,
& ACCESSORY
STORE TRUST?

17. Source: ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018
CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR, & ACCESSORY STORE:
TRUST MODEL
6% Solve customer
problems
Give honest advice,
even if they don’t
make a sale
Policies that favour
customers’ best interests
Latest innovative
products &
services
Communicate
transparently
38%
31%
16%
15%
STORES
EMPLOYEES
PRODUCTS
KEY DRIVERS OF TRUST
COMMS.
17%
13%
14%
8%
Solve customer
problems (e.g.
returns or refunds)
11%
TRUST SCORES
6.5
CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR,
& ACCESSORY STORES
INDUSTRY AVERAGE
6.7

18. 46%
of consumers indicated
returning a product
they tried and did not
like to be acceptable
73%
uplift in customer
satisfaction when
shoppers had a positive
staff interaction
89%
of shoppers would pay
more for clothing from a
company that ensures
garment workers have
safe, decent conditions
Sources: InMoment 2017; ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018; Oxfam Australia 2016
CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR, & ACCESSORY STORE:
BUILDING TRUST

19. WHAT’S
DRIVING
ONLINE ONLY
RETAILER
TRUST?

20. ONLINE ONLY RETAILER: TRUST MODEL
Policies that favour
customers’ best interests
Organised
to easily find
products & services
High quality products
& services
Solve customer
problems
Will not distribute
personal information
without consent
42%
21%
21%
17%
STORES
EMPLOYEES
PRODUCTS
KEY DRIVERS OF TRUST
INFO.
SECURITY
Solve customer
problems (e.g.
returns or refunds)
16%
13%
13%
12%
8%
7%
TRUST SCORES
6.5
ONLINE ONLY
RETAILERS
INDUSTRY AVERAGE
5.7
Source: ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018; Note: Percentages may not add up due to rounding

21. 79%
of consumers considered
purchasing a
counterfeit product
online to be
unacceptable
49%
of consumers actively
check the retailer’s
return policy before
making an online
purchase
83%
of consumers prefer
human customer
service interactions to
digital alternatives
Sources: Narvar 2017; ACRS Consumer Retail Trust Model 2018; Verint 2016
ONLINE ONLY RETAILER: BUILDING TRUST

22. 5 KEY CONSIDERATIONS
OF CONSUMER TRUST
TRUST IS AN OUTCOME
Instead focus on what makes you
worthy of your consumer’s trust
TRUST IS MULTIDIMENSIONAL
Identify the trust dimensions that
have the greatest impact on the
overall trust of your brand
TRUST IS BUILT
Understand what drivers are
contributing to your trust
dimensions and how you are
performing on these drivers
TRUST IS NOT THE ONLY OUTCOME
Improving trust drivers carry over to
other desirable business outcomes
TRUST IS UNIQUE
Levels, dimensions, and drivers
of trust will vary based on
industry, business, and brand

23. ACRS, Monash University
Building S, Level 6
26 Sir John Monash Drive
Caulfield East VIC 3145
+61 3 9903 1070
paolo.deleon@monash.edu
monash.edu/acrs