Trust Me, Digital Retailers That Don’t Get These Things Right Will Lose Customers

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Who knew shopping for a new baby would be so darn complex? Not me.

Even though I advise retailers for a living, wading into a new product category as an expectant dad hasn’t been easy. I created a spreadsheet of items that several parents billed as essential, but I don’t have time to research every brand selling them. Does that crib contain lead paint? Will that baby monitor actually work? No idea.

So I found a local retailer and blindly gave them my trust.

Well, not exactly. From word of mouth, I gathered they were trustworthy. After purchasing a few things in-store, I was impressed by their product knowledge and customer service. When I shopped online, they delivered promptly and as advertised.

At every turn, this retailer has behaved with a care and consistency that builds trust. I now order with confidence, knowing they’ll notify me of any delivery issues and trusting they’ve vetted suppliers and products thoroughly.

?There are some lessons here for digital retailers, who must earn trust one customer at a time. Trust charges slowly and drains quickly, to use Shopify’s battery analogy .

People spend almost 50% more with a retailer they trust. Betray that and you rarely get a second chance, especially with competitors just a click away. Here are a few things online retailers can do to keep their customers and raise their game.

We’ve all experienced the frustration of ordering a product and getting something different from what was advertised. No wonder 30% of online purchases get returned, compared to less than 10% in-store.

Make sure what customers see is also what they get

For an online retailer, trust starts with the website. The closest thing they have to a salesperson should be knowledgeable, honest and helpful.?

We’ve all experienced the frustration of ordering a product and getting something different from what was advertised. No wonder 30% of online purchases get returned, compared to less than 10% in-store.

Brands can avoid that doom loop by ensuring accurate and truthful product descriptions. Like good salespeople, digital retailers have an opportunity to build trust by sharing their deep product knowledge. Most don’t bother. For example, if there are 12 similar-looking items ranging in price from $15 to $100, explaining the differences between them gives shoppers more confidence in the purchase.

Huckberry , which sells a variety of men’s brands, goes the extra mile by spotlighting certain items and posting detailed reviews to shed light on its merchandising choices. Its digital newsletter offers personalized content related to product areas I care about, unlike many lackluster and generic sale emails from other brands.

Credible product reviews are another trust builder. Besides weeding out fake reviews — online, upward of 40% are misleading or outright false — retailers should be transparent about those they pay for. Home Depot does that by clearly labeling any review that’s part of a promotion.

Don’t stumble on retail tech

People rarely hesitate to give their credit card number online now, showing retail tech’s advancement in keeping trust. However, consumers are less likely to trust retailers than many other businesses with personal information, making secure checkouts essential.?

Luckily, these days it’s almost harder to have an insecure digital storefront. Shopify and other vendors have made it easy to stand up a decent-looking site that can safely accept customers’ money and protect their data.

But of course, data breaches do happen, with one quarter of all cyberattacks targeting retailers. If a breach occurs, maintain trust by quickly informing everyone affected, explaining what information might have been exposed, and describing what’s being done to contain the problem.?

Smart retailers also keep the inner workings of their tech out of sight, like the back end of a brick-and-mortar store. That’s no mean feat for multi-brand retailers, which juggle many supplier relationships to keep orders flowing.?

In a worst-case scenario, a customer thinks they’re buying from the umbrella site, only to get saddled with different return and refund policies for each item. Huckberry does a good job of insulating customers from such complexity by keeping it behind the scenes.?

Ideally, retailers that offer both online and in-person shopping should use tech to integrate both experiences too. Home Depot knocks that out of the park. You can buy it online and pick it up right away at the store. Need a different part, fast? By working with local courier services for quick dropoff, Home Depot has even outpaced Amazon on delivery.

Follow through after the sale

With less worry about paying online, a new fear emerges: What if I get stuck with something I hate?

Confession: I recently threw away a $70 item rather than deal with a complicated return process. That retailer forgot that when it comes to building trust, the post-purchase experience is as crucial as the sale itself.?

People loathe returning things, which gives them the polar opposite of that dopamine hit from a new purchase. In fact, almost nine out of 10 consumers say a negative return experience discourages them from shopping with that brand again.

Amazon has it all figured out. Essentially, it wins customers’ trust by transferring risk to its merchants, forcing them to accept returns on everything and automatically issue refunds. Home Depot is no slouch either. You can return a product in a dozen pieces with the packaging ripped to shreds — and they’ll give you your money back without even asking for the bill.?

Smaller brands can’t match mass-market retailers in that department. Instead of automating everything, they should lean into one of their biggest strengths — one-on-one connection — and reach out to unhappy customers to offer exchanges or replacements.

Ultimately, like that shopping list for my new baby, trust is a work in progress for retailers. Each and every customer interaction can strengthen or weaken it. For brands that are serious about getting people to trust them, making a good first impression beats hoping for a second chance.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear about your thoughts or experiences in the comments below. And for more ideas that challenge the status quo, subscribe to Retail Insights.

(Content from this post was originally featured in Fast Company ).