Trust as a high-yield investment in e-commerce

It almost sounds like a paradox.

An Expert Comment by Christian Renk, Manging Director from Klarna Austria. In the high-tech segment of the electronic trade in goods and services everything centres around one primeval requirement: trust.
The buyer trusts the dealer is reputable and is shipping goods that are free from any defects while the seller, for their part, is counting on the customer being able to place the order and pay after receipt at the latest. Whereas in static retail trust can be built up easily and is correspondingly stable as a result, for example, of people interacting, in e-commerce it’s a question of “systemic trust”, of trust in the system of handling and processing a purchase.

Transparent routes for payment
Successful online shops and online retailers see trust as capital. Slowly built, easily eroded by irritations and quickly lost by bad decisions, making it more difficult to retain long-term customer loyalty. Online retailers know this and include features in their website to generate trust. This includes, for example, providing sufficient information about products, having an appealing online shop design or creating short, transparent routes through to payment.
If operators of online shops consistently incorporate these trust elements, consumers can then trust in an irritant-free and risk-free purchase process. In doing so, the trust system will generate clear expectations: “What worked for my neighbour or work colleague yesterday or the day before should work just as well for me too.”

Secure versions of purchase
Trust – in the online retailer, in the technology used and in all the actors involved – is therefore vital to people deciding to make a purchase. The payment itself is critically important. Established and standardised as well as fast and secure payment methods should be included in the online shop’s offer.
Innovations too, such as direct banking procedures based on (trusted) online banking or secure versions of purchase on account have been tested with consumers and proved popular and correspondingly underpin the trust factor in e-commerce.