It’s all about trust. Forter’s latest research on brand trust of consumers showed that respondents said they are willing to spend 46 percent more on average with retailers they trust, which Forter described as the “Trust Premium.”
“Unfortunately, the vast majority of respondents (76 percent) reported having a negative online shopping experience in the past three months,” authors of the report said, adding that its report “found alarming rates of false declines, cart abandonment and trust issues heading into the holiday shopping season.” The research is based on 5,000 survey respondents in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Singapore and China.
“The Trust Premium represents potentially millions of dollars in revenue uplift for retailers,” said Michael Reitblat, CEO and co-founder of Forter. “Retailers that lean into and invest in customer experience — from account creation to authentication to checkout — are best positioned to turn a profit over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend.”
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Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (and state attorneys general from 17 states) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon. The case argues that Amazon engages in unfair and monopolistic practices, which results in squeezing the competition and higher prices.
For the past week, the U.S. business press has been frothing over the lawsuit’s implications. It is estimated that Amazon garners 40 percent of all online sales. In fashion apparel and footwear, it is the largest seller.
The tech coalition, Chamber of Progress, lined up with Amazon, noting that recent polling showed that 64 percent of all voters are Amazon Prime members “and that the most cited reason for subscribing to Prime is Amazon’s two-day shipping model.” The coalition said 61 percent of voters polled “think government regulations should not prevent Amazon from providing the best services to its customers, even if that means sellers and competitors make less money.”
Chamber of Progress founder and CEO Adam Kovacevich said, “At a time when families need help, it’s really surprising that the FTC would try to break up a service that nearly half of all Americans use to make their lives easier. The FTC is targeting practices that Amazon’s competitors don’t like competing against — like two-day shipping and low prices for consumers — but which American families love. Breaking up Amazon Prime would only raise prices for consumers, threaten free shipping and make it harder for families to get affordable goods.”
In the fintech space, Klarna is promoting circularity and “smart shopping” via new products and services. The company said with these updates, it continues “to evolve beyond payments to become a starting point for every purchase for 150 million consumers and 27 million app users worldwide, whether they already know what they want or are looking for inspiration — all while prioritizing environmental impact.”
The new features and services include an updated carbon dioxide tracker, sustainability search filters and a “conscious shopping” dashboard.
The sustainability search filters allow Klarna app users to identify products “by third-party sustainability certifications including Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Cradle to Cradle,” the company said.
Regarding the updated “Co2e tracker” in the Klarna app, the company said it now provides “more advanced insights into the CO2 emissions tied to past purchases, meticulously analyzed at a product level.”
Klarna said the conscious-shopping dashboard is designed to serve “as a centralized resource offering consumers access to a comprehensive array of sustainability-oriented products, features and services provided by Klarna.” This includes “Shop Circular” brands “that spotlight brands with circular services to reduce waste and maximize the use of products, to Klarna’s popular Co2e footprint tracker, this new dashboard is the destination to discover and engage with all of Klarna’s sustainability products — all in one place,” the company said.
Salah Said, head of sustainability at Klarna, said the company is “dedicated to transforming shopping into a more circular, sustainable experience by facilitating more informed decisions and providing our 150 million consumers with tools to discover more environmentally responsible products.”
Said went on to note that, with the rollout of these new products, the company will “aim to equip individuals to make choices that align with their values and consider sustainable aspects when shopping.”
