36% of US Consumers Say Trust Is Key Factor in Choosing Online Merchants

Business woman using credit card payment to purchase. Online bank identification and website in laptop. E commerce transaction data and information for security from fraud. Electronic money transfer.

Consumers want to feel safe when they shop online. They’re willing to trade off at least some of the conveniences of online commerce – namely, speed – if they can be assured that their sensitive data is being kept safe.

“The Trust Quotient,” done in tandem with PYMNTS and Sift, surveyed more than 2,500 consumers to gauge their attitudes about security and commerce. Eighty-four percent of shoppers want small merchants to do whatever it takes to protect their data during their first transactions.

See also: The Trust Quotient: How Online Merchants Build Trust With First-Time Customers

Familiarity, it seems, breeds trust. Drilling down a bit, a majority of younger consumers – 61% of bridge millennials – are willing to forgo extra data protection with familiar merchants because they trust them. Thirty-six percent of all consumers cite trust as the top determinant in their choice of a familiar online merchant, with 16% naming product ratings.

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And that type of trust will be critical, given the frequency with which consumers are transacting online. As many as 42% of consumers are transacting weekly online with Walmart, while 33% are doing so with Amazon.