Clients Belief Every Different Over Influencers, New Akeneo B2C Report Finds

A brand new Akeneo survey reveals that peer critiques, not influencers, are shaping belief and loyalty within the world retail panorama

The trendy shopper journey has grown more and more advanced. Customers now work together with a median of six touchpoints earlier than buying, mixing digital and in-store channels with expectations for accuracy, personalization, and authenticity.

A brand new world B2C survey from Akeneo, which surveyed 1,800 customers throughout eight international locations, reveals probably the most placing insights: prospects belief one another’s voices greater than influencers or consultants. This shift has important implications for a way manufacturers method credibility, loyalty, and advertising methods in 2025 and past.

The Belief Hierarchy: Evaluations Outweigh Influencers

Akeneo’s analysis underscores a serious growth within the world retail panorama: consumer critiques now sit on the prime of the belief hierarchy. Two-thirds of customers globally reported shopping for merchandise based mostly on peer suggestions. Whereas greater than half additionally acknowledged making purchases influenced by influencer suggestions, the burden of credibility skews towards fellow buyers.

This discovering doesn’t negate the position of influencers — significantly in magnificence, trend, wellness, and sports activities classes, the place they continue to be extremely persuasive — however it indicators that genuine, unfiltered peer-to-peer content material has turn into the gold customary of credibility. Customers more and more need proof that somebody like them has used the product and located worth.

For entrepreneurs, this recalibrates the position of social proof. Influencer activations could drive consciousness, however critiques and customer-generated content material are actually the cornerstone of conversion.

Accuracy because the Bedrock of Commerce

Belief doesn’t finish with critiques; it begins with correct data. The report exhibits that two-thirds of customers deserted a purchase order previously 12 months as a consequence of lacking or incorrect product particulars. This discovering highlights how product data administration (PIM) is not simply an operational activity — it’s a income driver.

Much more compelling, practically half of world buyers stated they’d pay a premium — a median of 25% extra per product — if retailers supplied full and dependable product content material. That willingness to pay illustrates a rising linkage between information high quality and perceived model worth. Incomplete content material not solely weakens gross sales however damages credibility long-term.

Personalization and the Position of AI

Personalised procuring is rising as one other trust-builder. Two in 5 customers would pay additional for experiences tailor-made to their preferences, with many citing stronger loyalty to manufacturers that ship relevance at each touchpoint.

Synthetic intelligence sits on the coronary heart of this pattern. Instruments like AI-powered assistants and suggestion engines are serving to buyers reduce by noise and make assured selections. But the report additionally highlights a fragile stress: whereas customers embrace personalization, they continue to be cautious of opaque AI use. Issues about privateness, misuse, and impersonality persist, making transparency in AI deployment important to long-term belief.

Values Matter: Sustainability and Transparency

One other key dimension within the fashionable shopper’s mindset is the alignment of name values with shopper values. The survey discovered that 42% of customers would spend extra if manufacturers clearly communicated their sustainability efforts, provide chain practices, or moral requirements. This group was prepared to pay a median of 24% extra for such assurance.

But the report additionally exhibits that product content material usually fails to convey these values adequately. The takeaway for manufacturers is evident: sustainability, transparency, and values communication should transfer from peripheral messaging into the core of product storytelling.

Omnichannel because the Default

Customers not assume when it comes to “on-line” versus “offline.” They count on seamless integration. Akeneo’s findings present that almost three-quarters of buyers use a number of channels all through their journey, with bodily retail shops and digital marketplaces usually overlapping.

The implications are substantial: buyers need constant, high-quality product data whether or not shopping in-store, on a model website, or on a market. Add to this the expectation of free returns, quick supply, and simple processes, and the baseline for acceptable buyer expertise has risen dramatically.

For manufacturers, omnichannel accuracy isn’t a bonus — it’s a requirement.

Implications for Entrepreneurs and Manufacturers

The report affords a roadmap for manufacturers navigating the trendy retail panorama:

Re-center credibility on critiques. Peer suggestions carries the strongest affect on buy selections and ought to be amplified in digital experiences.
Steadiness influencer campaigns with genuine voices. Influencers stay priceless for discovery, however buyer critiques and UGC anchor belief.
Put money into product data administration. Excessive-quality, constant product content material can instantly enhance gross sales and cut back pricey returns.
Be clear with AI. Personalization wins loyalty, however solely when customers perceive how their information is getting used.
Showcase model values. Sustainability and ethics are not elective narratives; they’re buy drivers.
Ship seamless omnichannel journeys. Belief and loyalty rely upon consistency throughout each touchpoint.

Collectively, these findings reinforce a brand new actuality: belief is fragmented, however it’s also extra measurable than ever. Manufacturers that mix peer validation with accuracy, personalization, and values-driven transparency can be finest positioned to win buyer loyalty in 2025.

The Way forward for Belief in B2C

The Akeneo B2C survey paints a transparent image of an empowered, values-driven, and digitally fluent shopper. The standout lesson is that prospects usually tend to belief one another than influencers — and that belief extends throughout each aspect of the acquisition journey, from correct product information to constant omnichannel experiences.

For manufacturers, the problem isn’t solely to fulfill these expectations however to combine them right into a cohesive technique that sustains loyalty in an more and more crowded market.

Concerning the Writer

Author

Nadica Naceva writes, edits, and wrangles content material at Influencer Advertising and marketing Hub, the place she retains the wheels turning behind the scenes. She’s reviewed extra articles than she will be able to depend, ensuring they don’t exit sounding like AI wrote them in a rush. When she’s not knee-deep in drafts, she’s coaching others to identify fluff from miles away (so she doesn’t should).