One of the biggest trends that emerged from my recent 2025 predictions piece was that a brand’s success in the coming year will be defined by how it builds and maintains trust with customers.
Consumer distrust towards brands is driven by their concerns about data, privacy and security. While these concerns are not new, the emergence of generative AI in the last couple of years seems to have exacerbated and intensified them, and they now include the transparent and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI).
This is supported by research by Qualtrics XM Institute, which found that trust levels between consumers and companies in the US have fallen to their lowest level since 2016 and are also now on par with trust levels from back in 2012.
However, that research also highlighted that distrust of brands is highest among younger consumers. For instance, the average trust rating across industries was 57% for consumers who are 65 years and older but fell to 28% for the 18- to 24-year-old age group.
The result is that many consumers, and particularly younger consumers, simply don’t trust brands to have their best interests at heart and don’t trust what they say about themselves.
That being said, customers are still seeking out great products, services and experiences.
But, given the trust deficit that now exists between them and brands they are increasingly seeking out and turning to different sources of trusted information and recommendations to help them with their buying decisions.
One of those sources is influencers, who are increasingly helping brands build higher levels of trust and connection with their customers, and expand their reach. This is borne out by recent research from Adobe, which finds that finds that 37% of Gen Zers report that they have purchased something based on an influencer’s recommendation and that “influencers are converting shoppers (individuals making a purchase after seeing influencer content) 10 times more than social media overall.”
Moreover, according to Vivek Pandya, Director at Adobe Digital Insights, their most recent data finds that “During Cyber Week, Affiliates and Partners (which includes social media influencers), drove 19% revenue share and resulted in a growth of 23.4% YoY, a testament to the growing strength of this channel.”
While those are some pretty impressive numbers, they don’t surprise Clare Lawson, CEO of Ogilvy One EMEA who believes that “Consumers are tired of push communications and ads. Influencers, with their engaged communities and relatable personalities, build genuine trust. They share real experiences and create authentic connections that boost brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth. That two-way ongoing engagement is essential for great CX.”
Lawson goes on to say that “Influencers are quickly becoming key players in shaping the future of customer experience (CX). They’re not just about sales anymore; they’re changing how brands connect with and understand their customers. This presents a huge opportunity for businesses to create a more authentic and impactful CX strategy.”
So, given the trust challenges that brands face, it seems that influencers could play a key role for many brands in how they build and maintain trust with their customers in the coming year.
But, in order to be successful in this area, Daphne Robertson, the VP of Customer Experience and Operations at #paid, counsels that brands must “Trust your creators and let them have the autonomy to craft authentic content that resonates with their audience because they know their audience the best.”
That’s going to be easier said than done for some brands.
But, given the changes that we are seeing in the search environment as well as increased competition across digital channels, leveraging influencers to build and maintain trust as well as to extend their reach feels like a smart play.