Alter Agents Senior Vice President Heather O’Shea recently published a new article in Advertising Week exploring how declining trust is changing the way consumers shop and what that means for advertisers. Drawing on Alter Agents’ ongoing consumer sentiment research, Heather argues that today’s consumers are putting far more effort into everyday purchase decisions, spending more time researching products, comparing information and looking for reassurance before they buy.

The article explains that financial pressure is only part of the story. Consumers are also navigating an environment filled with conflicting information, AI-generated content and growing skepticism toward institutions and brands. As Heather writes, “Consumers are spending more time evaluating purchases that once required very little thought,” even for routine household items.

Rather than encouraging brands to simply produce more content, Heather argues that marketers should focus on reducing uncertainty. “Simply producing more content isn’t likely to solve that problem,” she writes. “Making it easier to answer the questions people already have is often more useful.” That includes making product information easier to find, improving customer experiences and understanding where hesitation enters the purchase journey.

The article concludes by encouraging advertisers to think beyond awareness and consider the entire customer experience. As Heather notes, “Consumers don’t separate advertising, ecommerce and customer service into different departments. They experience them as one brand.” As trust becomes a larger factor in consumer decision-making, the brands that remove friction and consistently deliver on their promises will be better positioned to earn both confidence and loyalty.

Read the article here: https://advertisingweek.com/what-the-trust-recession-means-for-advertisers/