A study conducted by Intuit has revealed consumer patterns and habits as well as the vision of brands. The report "Trust in brands in the age of information overload" is based on a survey of more than 10,000 consumers from nine different countries, 1,500 of whom are Spanish. Among the main conclusions, trust (42%) and connection (37%) with the brand are one of the main drivers for Spanish consumers.
The report identifies other factors that drive consumers to engage with brands: regular discounts and rewards (41%), free returns (38%) and free delivery (37%). Free delivery, in Spain, is the top factor in Spain when it comes to shopping, the results are mixed depending on the generation surveyed. For the over 65s, the main purchase drivers are customer service, free delivery, free returns and trust, while 18-24 year olds prioritise discounts.
Another difference revealed between the generations is that young people tolerate communications from brands on social and political issues. However, Spain bucks this global trend with a higher percentage of young people likely to unsubscribe due to this type of content: 33% of 18-24 year olds would unsubscribe, compared to the global average of 26% for this age group.
Consumers agree to receive information, but only on their own terms. Personalised content is the most popular in Spain and 7 is the number of emails Spanish consumers tolerate from a brand before unsubscribing and the highest figure globally.
Jim Rudall, Head of EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp, says it's a difficult time for businesses in Spain: "It's hard to build trust and engage customers. Brands are going through difficult times, with a lot of competition and noise, as well as economic and social factors such as inflation and customer expectations in terms of ethics and values. It is difficult for marketers to decipher how they can make meaningful connections with their customers and drive sales. Our latest report offers data-driven strategies, coupled with a robust email and marketing automation platform, that will enable brands to deliver hyper-personalised marketing at scale."
Consumers recognise that misinformation has become one of the reasons they trust brands less, but what can brands do to build and maintain trust from the start?
- Focus on quality of service. This point is more important for older generations, such as the 'silver' generation.
- Ask for data and provide value. Nearly eight out of ten shoppers need brands to ensure responsible use of their data, half (50%) are willing to share it with brands they trust. Over 60% of consumers would like to get more value and personalisation in return for sharing their data and only just over a third (41%) believe they are getting value for money.
- Getting brand followers to mobilise. The report reveals that word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family are the most trusted (42%), followed by customer testimonials and reviews (36%), both well ahead of content creators and influencers (11%).
- Communicate transparently. The main way to regain trust in the brand when it is lost is through transparency of the company's actions (53%).
- Living up to brand promises. The report reveals that two of the factors that most influence shoppers' purchasing decisions are "that the company's values match their own" (33%) and "that the company has a strong brand identity: visual, written and substantive" (29%), so spending time on brand-strengthening content to underline the company's ethos can literally pay dividends.
- Take advantage of smart discount strategies. Discount codes are an unequivocal driver of sales. Nearly half of Spanish consumers are more likely to buy "right now" if there is a discount code across the web (45%), a third (34%) will look for a discount code before making any online purchase and a quarter (25%) will delay purchases over €125 until they can get a discount. However, while discount codes encourage purchases and customer engagement, they are detracting from companies' profits. Our report reveals what is the discount hook for Spanish shoppers: 13%. This is the minimum discount that would encourage shoppers to click through to the website to explore potential purchases.