The

eCommerce Studying the

Trust Report impact of “trust”

on eCommerce

2022 businesses
About Instamojo

Instamojo, is an eCommerce platform for

independent businesses, DTC brands and Micro,
Medium & Small Enterprises (MSMEs) that enables
them to start, manage and grow their business
online.

It is a one-stop shop for an entrepreneur that

caters to their diverse eCommerce business
needs by leveraging technology, data and design.

In 2012, Instamojo was one of the first startups

from India to join the prestigious 500 Startups
Silicon Valley Accelerator Program. It has also
been featured as one of the hottest start-ups by
EconomicTimes in 2015.

Instamojo constantly works towards creating

significant innovation in digital commerce, which
is universally accessible and creates newer
opportunities & sustainable livelihoods for MSMEs.
About the report

eCommerce transactions are at an all-time high.

For independent businesses to grow online, there
needs to be a deeper understanding of what
consumers want and how businesses can serve
their needs in the most effective manner without
burning cash.

Since online transactions happen between

“faceless” entities, reliability and dependability
hold more gravity than usual.

This whitepaper attempts to understand the

different factors that strengthen or weaken trust
for the different stakeholders and helps outline
various trust-building strategies that DTC brands
can enforce to build long-lasting and profitable
relationships.
Contents
01 What is trust?

02 The different stakeholders

of trust in eCommerce

03 Research method
and survey sets

04 Trust between an eCommerce

consumer and a DTC brand

05 Consumer trust in eCommerce:

The point of view of nano entrepreneurs

06 Concerns of an independent
eCommerce seller

07 How does an eCommerce platform

evoke trust in online shoppers?

08 Relationship between the eCommerce

platform and hosted brands

09 How does a DTC brand

trust its website builder?

10 Measuring trust and

loyalty in eCommerce
Introduction
More than 2 billion people The most basic requirement
have bought something for a consumer to complete
online. India alone has seen an online transaction is -
230 million people purchasing
over the internet in 20211. Does the consumer trust
the eCommerce business?
The global village is
connected now more than This whitepaper paper has
ever, especially since the been written with the
catalytic effect of the objective of understanding
coronavirus pandemic shifted how trust is built in the
entire livelihoods online. eCommerce ecosystem.

But with the rising Internet Entrepreneurs and small

penetration and use, there is and micro businesses can
the bigger problem of doing also implement various
better than your competition. trust-building strategies
that have been thoroughly
Online businesses have been outlined in this paper.
mushrooming, and the only
way to stay relevant is to Throughout this paper,
satisfy customers’ needs multiple vantage points of
better than the previous day. stakeholders will be
discussed to show the
Purchasing decisions are reader how to constantly
solely based on a consumer’s evaluate factors that chip
preferences that are shaped away at this abstract
by numerous emotion.
psycho-socioeconomic
factors.

1Online retail spending in India to hit $300 billion by 2030: A Livemint Report
This is the only way to build We at Instamojo have helped
successful eCommerce more than 2 million
brands and transparent businesses over 10 years, and
long-term relationships with have carefully taken their
customers. opinions and experiences into
consideration when writing
This report was written with this paper.
insights contributed by the
deAsra Foundation. They
provide access to information,
services and handholding
support for small businesses
that want to sell online
effectively through
www.deasra.in .
 The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 06

01 What is
trust?
Rotter (1967) defines interpersonal trust
“... as an expectancy held by an
individual or a group that the word,
promise, verbal or written statement of
another individual or group can be relied
upon”.

Trust is an important factor in ANY social

context. But, in the online context, the
factors of trust become more important
considering there is an enhanced risk
driven by - anonymity, lack of physical
interactions, and potential opportunism2.

After the first online transaction in 1994,

people were still skeptical about shopping
online. Consumers didn’t trust the
internet enough to spend money on it.
It is the relationship between the
consumer and the retailer and it’s
Almost three decades later, eCommerce
influenced based on the consumer’s
sales make up nearly 20% of all retail
beliefs about the vendor.
sales worldwide. That’s billions of dollars
worth of business.

Now, more people are buying from online

shopping platforms, both, marketplaces In short, the consumer needs to
and independent retailers. feel that the business is
trustworthy enough to engage
However, the inherent lack of trust has in a transactional relationship in
always been one of the mitigating factors which the consumer might be
in the growth of eCommerce. required to share personal and
other sensitive information with
In the eCommerce world, trust is based the brand.
on many things: brand image, reputation
and PR, website hosting, and much more.

2Grabner-Kräuter, Sonja & Kaluscha, A.E.. (2008). Consumer trust in electronic commerce:
Conceptualization and classification of trust building measures.
07
Here’s why building
customer trust is
important for your
online business:
1. The best way to beat the
competition:
Nowadays, consumers have lots of
options, especially in the digital market.
There may be a lot of big players in
your space to focus on specifically.
Therefore, stop focusing on
competition and start understanding
your customers; you’ll see the magic
happen.
Build long lasting trust with your
customers and let them know why they
should choose your products over your
competitors’.
2. Brings in more customers:
Trust is linked to the ultimate goal for
any business - sustainability of growth.
The best marketing is word of mouth.
Your customers will be your biggest
advocates if you earn their trust.
3. Builds your brand:
Nowadays customers are hyper-aware
of who they buy from. Interacting with
them sets the tone for your business.
A trustworthy brand brings in loyal
customers in the long run.
Despite the prospective size of
ecommerce market in India, there
is still a huge gap.
Sales on small DTC brands are
pretty low as compared to sales
on bigger aggregator platforms.
This gap can be attributed to low
trust to an extent, which has to be
built both ways.
One step to building this trust is
having a legit website and proper
logistics for delivery, which forms
the main pillars of selling online.
- Sampad Swain, CEO, Instamojo
 The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 08

02 The different stakeholders

of trust in eCommerce
It’s fair to say since the dot com boom, In 2021, there were 2.14 billion online
there are a few places on earth that are buyers globally4, which comes to about
not affected by the internet. Entire 27% of the global population.
global economies have a dependency
on the transitions that take place over
the web.

So much so that by the year 2040, it’s

estimated that 95% of all purchases will
be through eCommerce3.
27%
eCommerce has transformed our people globally
everyday lives and it is too complex of a buy online
system for us to definitely point out
every single stakeholder in the vast
ecosystem.

But for the purpose of this paper, and

the nature of the industry that we are
in, there are 3 major stakeholders that For this paper, the eCommerce
hold up this economy - consumer’s point of view will tell us -

eCommerce consumer
How do they choose an online
There would be no eCommerce if there seller?
were no online shoppers. Any person
who is willing to complete transactions What motivates them to shop
and payments to receive goods and online?
services over the internet is an
eCommerce consumer. Why do they choose to trust
an eCommerce platform?

What are the roadblocks?

3https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/uk-online-shopping-and-e-commerce-statistics-2017-2017-03-14
4https://www.oberlo.in/statistics/how-many-people-shop-online
09
The online seller
There can't be an economic transaction
without the counterpart to the buyer.
The seller - is an individual or
organization that is willing to sell their
services/products on the internet to a
buyer.
There are different types of online
sellers, but predominantly, an online
seller is either going to sell to a buyer
independently without needing a
middleman (A DTC seller) or will take
the help of an aggregator or
marketplace to connect to the seller.
For this paper, since we want to
understand the dynamics of a
relationship between the seller and the
buyer without it getting affected by the
middleman’s choices/facilities, we
would be focusing on DTC sellers and
their points of view.
We hope to discover -
What are their apprehensions
about selling online?
How do they build a relationship
with their customer?
What are the factors that
influence their decision when
choosing an eCommerce
platform?
5https://wpforms.com/ecommerce-statistics/
eCommerce platform
The platform is a bridge connecting the
seller to the buyer. If you want to sell
online, you would need an online store
that can showcase the products you
are offering.
The platform is instrumental in helping
an online seller run their business and
reach out to their customer.
There are about 24 million eCommerce
platforms globally5 that are trying to
cater to the needs of the online
consumer.
Through this paper, we hope to
understand -
How does the relationship
between the seller and the
platform evolve?
How does this platform
influence the choices that the
consumer makes?
The factors that a seller takes
into account when choosing an
eCommerce platform
 The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
03 Research method
and survey sets
We have established the three
stakeholders that we are going to focus
on with this paper -
1. The eCommerce consumer
2. The eCommerce platform
3. The online seller
We developed survey sets that can
further explore the relationship
between each stakeholder.
10
They were:
1. A survey was sent to online
consumers to understand their
behaviour and preferences.
2. A survey was sent to eCommerce
sellers to identify their concerns
3. A poll answered by eCommerce
sellers to understand how they
choose eCommerce platforms
4. eCommerce platforms also
weighed in on their role as a
stakeholder when it comes to
facilitating safe and secure online
transactions.
 11

04 Trust between an
eCommerce consumer
and a DTC brand
On the internet, the buyer has to
complete the transaction with a
“faceless vendor” so to speak.

So, the initial stages of building trust

are entirely based on cognitive
perceptions of what is visible i.e.
website, the reputation of the seller,
privacy & security, and ease of
navigation.

These then become the logical

antecedents of online trust6.

So, in 2022, how is trust build

between a consumer and an
eCommerce brand?

6Grabner-Kräuter, Sonja & Kaluscha, A.E.. (2008). Consumer trust in electronic commerce: Conceptualization and classification
of trust building measures.
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
Survey findings
According to the survey, 55% of
consumers shop online at least once a
month. This frequency denotes their
comfort levels for buying products and
services online.
Their leading reasons for liking online
shopping were evenly distributed
between
Better prices
More available options
Discounts and offers
Comfort and convenience
More than 70% of the respondents said
that they shopped online because the
experience has been good for them.
According to the survey, 78% of
respondents were hesitant to shop
online because of the inability to
physically assess the product.
Not being able to see/feel the product
leads to the buyer choosing to
complete a payment transaction on an
online website purely based on an
assumption that the product will be
what it is promised.
12
The consumer chooses to have
faith in the brand prior to the
actual purchase.
Customer retention would
ultimately be based on how
the brand can convince the
customer that their leap of
faith was well taken.
53% of the respondents did not like the
difference in time between placing the
order and then actually receiving the
product.
This is in comparison to shopping in a
physical space where you get the
product instantaneously.
From the stage of discovery to
completing purchases, the leading
reasons that gave the consumer
momentum to move forward were:
Intent - 39% completed the purchase
because they felt the product would
fulfil their need
Reviews - 49% completed the
purchase because there were enough
reviews of the product
 13

Others 7%
Based on
the brand Based on
the prices

How do
you choose
49% a product? 39%
Based on reviews Based on how
and refernces relevant it is to
my need

In the consumer journey, the biggest

reasons for dropouts and cart
abandonments were attributed to -

1. Poor reviews of the product with

66% of respondents
2. A website with a bad user
experience for 71% of the
respondents
3. A payment platform that is not
secure/recognizable with 51% of the
respondents
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
Resolving the biggest
“Trust” pain points
1. Reviews and testimonials
Main reasons why consumers trust
brands that have genuine reviews:
The survey results clearly show that
reviews are a deciding factor for
shoppers during the final stages of their
purchase journey.
It’s based on the basic human
psychology of trusting people that have
had the same experience as you.
14
On your eCommerce website, reviews
can be included on the product page or
home page.
A rating along with a short review from
verified buyers is a standard way of
including social proof.
Remember: Never attempt
to put up fake reviews
because this can do more
harm than good.
Get your customers to
review your product on
your online store. They
might need a little nudge
before they take the effort
to add a review or rating.
One way is to send a
personalised email or WhatsApp
message to the customer right after the
product has been delivered. Ask them
to leave a review.
You can also add a small note along
with the product package asking for a
review.
If you still haven’t gotten enough
reviews, send out coupon codes to
customers in exchange for a genuine
testimonial.
15

2. Website user experience

A smooth shopping experience is what
customers expect from online stores.
In the survey, 71% of respondents say
that they will not shop from a website
that looks shoddy with a bad user
experience.
Apart from this, you want to make sure
that the checkout process is simple and
secure. Be consistent with your website
design.
Online shoppers don’t want to
wait for the page to load or
browse through a confusing
catalogue. Your products need
to be organized in categories
and your site needs to have
smooth navigation.
These are the basics when it
comes to user experience.

Choose a theme that suits your brand.

Don’t forget to display your contact
details and add an FAQ page.
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 16

3. Detailed product To make the description easier to

navigate and read, divide the content
descriptions into sections with subheadings or
questions.
More than half of the online shoppers in
the survey needed detailed product
descriptions to complete a purchase. 4. Return and exchange
policies
Customers always like to know extra
details about the product they want to
In the survey, 19.8% of people say that
purchase.
not being able to physically assess a
product is a big disadvantage of
As an online seller, it is your
shopping online.
responsibility to describe your products
as nicely as you can and set the right
A clear return policy can help mitigate
expectations.
the risk of buying a product they
haven’t seen before at least to a certain
If you sell a physical product, answer
extent.
these questions in the description:
You can talk about your return and
exchange policy on the FAQ page or
What is the material of the shipping policy page. But make sure
product? they’re on the product page as well.
How is the product useful for
the consumer? You want customers to know about
How does the product function? return policies when they are in the
What sets this product apart decision-making process.
from the rest?
What are the dimensions of the Include how many days they can
product? choose to return or exchange within,
How can this product be used how long will it take for the return to
the best? process, and if there are any charges.
eg: if it’s a food product - what
other food does it taste great
with? If it’s a clothing piece,
what other clothing does it pair
well with? You get the point.
 17

05 Consumer trust in eCommerce:

The point of view of nano
entrepreneurs
Hesitant consumers with questions Four Pillars of Consumer
about the store, product quality and
authenticity, delivery status, and secure
Trust in B2C Ecommerce:
payment experience inevitably impact
The top four factors influencing
the sales of any eCommerce business.
consumer trust on eCommerce
platforms revealed are summarised
It comes as no surprise that nano
below:
entrepreneurs face an even stronger
ordeal when it comes to building an
eCommerce brand from scratch. 1. Authenticity:
With this in mind, the deAsra Centre of The business owners pointed out that
Excellence in Nano Entrepreneurship at sometimes buyers are very sceptical
Gokhale Institute of Politics and about the authenticity of the products,
Economics leveraged the deAsra as well as that of the seller.
Foundation’s experience working with
online sellers of its nano business They emphasised that a detail-oriented,
community and also reached out to a transparent, and user-friendly website
group of nano business owners to proves to be instrumental in building
understand their first hand experiences legitimacy.
on consumer trust, the reasons why it
fluctuates, and the best practices that Some of the respondents also
they have adopted in order to achieve specified that an elaborate ‘About Us’
the trust of buyers and trust revolving page, describing product details with
around online payments. business address, and references to
key team members are crucial.
The respondents included clothing and
accessories businesses, with an
average business age of 5 years. The
average annual turnover ranged from
Rs. 5L to 25L.
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 18

2. Professionalism: This majorly comprises of two aspects

-
a) Inability of the buyers to navigate
These nano business owners claimed
through the website and place an order
that adopting professional and
systematic elements, such as assigning
b) Resistance to paying online due to
a proper order number, conveying an
lack of awareness of the various online
approximate delivery window and
payment gateways/options that are
making the terms and conditions of any
widely used.
returns/refunds very transparent is a
challenge in itself.
Subsequently, the payment gateway
plays an important role in realizing
Simple systematic techniques establish
sales.
businesses as genuine and
consumer-friendly.
4. Payment gateways:
Techniques like confirmation mails,
correct and elaborate written product A payment gateway acts as a
descriptions and graphics/images of backbone of the cashless economy.
the products displayed contribute to
consumer sentiment. Whilst speaking to the business owners
during our interaction, they
3. Digital literacy: commended that their business journey
has had a significantly hassle-free
experience when it comes to using
Even after many years in operation,
popular payment gateways and they
many businesses experience buyers
had not encountered any major trust
adding products to the cart (showing
issues such as fraud or chargebacks.
interest and trust in the products
themselves) but not proceeding with
However, they also expressed concerns
the completion of the order.
about how there needs to be more
efficient customer support for small
According to business owners, the
businesses and immediate grievance
lack of digital literacy amongst many
redressal on the occasion when
consumers is a major reason for a
payment is stuck at the buyer’s end or
poor conversion rate.
there is no confirmation receipt
received from the seller’s end.
 19

06 Concerns of an independent
eCommerce seller
Any business owner takes a chance
when deciding to put something up for
sale.
In fact, an entire economy is based on
those who are willing to sell and those
who are willing to buy.
In this cycle, even though the trust of a
consumer in the seller is important, the
trust that the seller has in the consumer
also holds incredible value.
For example, an online seller who sells
event tickets, will not only worry about
the sale of the ticket - but also the final
experience that the customer has at
the event.
Micro business owners or handmade
artists who sell and ship fragile
products are constantly at risk of
being denied payment when it's cash
on delivery.
Or that they would have to ship the
A survey conducted by
Instamojo saw that 41.7% of
respondents believe that being
able to trust their customers
gives them the data-backed
confidence they need to expand
their product lines effectively.
So, they also need to trust the buyer
that if they liked a product, they would
recommend it to other people.
45.8% of these independent brands
also prioritized honest feedback from
their customers over everything else.
Why do you need to trust your
consumer?
16.7%
Minimal Protecting your
business costs
returns

product back because the buyer

“changed their mind”.
Preventing
An eCommerce seller also thrives on misuse of
recommendations and reviews. trial periods

29.2%
Honest
constructive
reviews

41.7%
To know which
product lines to
expand
 The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 20

Trust-building Here are some interesting statistics that

show the benefits of a good referral
exercises that DTC program8 -

brands can enforce • One in 3 people adopts a business

due to referrals.
In order for the online consumers to • Using a referral program improves
have fruitful relations with the online customer retention rate by 37%
seller, the eCommerce business owner • Referral Programs help improve
needs to encourage the consumer for sales revenue significantly.
behaviours that benefit the seller. • Word of mouth (or referral
marketing) influences 20 to 50% of
It's a simple risk and reward all buyer decisions.
mechanism. The promise of a reward • Referral leads are 10 times more
helps shape consumer behaviour so that valuable.
they are more incentivized to shop with • A good referral program builds a
you again or recommend you. great deal of trust among
customers.
Customer retention is a critical factor to
the success of any business. It is also 5x Referrals attract more educated and
cheaper than customer acquisition7. trusting customers - people who help
spread the word online.
Having loyal customers can help you
build a robust brand that sees lasting
growth. Customer retention is the single
largest consequence of a consumer
trusting the DTC brand.

Here are some foolproof methods of

retaining a customer:

1. Referral programs
A referral program is a marketing tool
where you reward your customer to refer
your business to a friend/colleague.

A refer-and-earn program can help you

multiply your business, raise brand
awareness and increase your marketing
ROI.

7Customer Retention Measurement - Metrics to Calculate and Tips to Improve

Retention - Freshchat
8A Guide to Finding the Perfect Referral Program for Your Business - Instamojo
21
2. Loyalty programs
Loyalty programs and Referral
programs are sometimes thought to be
similar, but they serve different
functions.
Loyalty programs incentivize customers
to purchase from you repeatedly, while
referral programs incentivize customers
who get their friends to buy from your
brand.
The simplest method to introduce a
loyalty program is a points system.
A point system structure that
awards points for different
events like website visits, or a
number of sales can incentivize
a customer to buy more.
Not only that, but a healthy
collection of points also boosts
their purchasing power.
3. Personal touches to the
product
For a small business owner, emotionally
connecting to the consumer can have
amazing long-term benefits.
You can show your appreciation to a
long-time customer by focusing on the
fine details of your product packaging.
Insert a handwritten note that
personally thanks them, or give a
shoutout to those customers from your
social media handle.
4. Freebies
Another great way of adding a personal
touch to the final product can be in the
form of a freebie or a small gift.
Big brands like Swiggy or Nykaa often
add in a small product for free when
you cross a certain cart amount.
As a small business owner, you can also
add in a new product for them to try out
to give you honest feedback.
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 22

5. Personalized discounts You can send them an SMS or email

alert with an OTP to unlock the
discount code.
Provide discount codes to customers
after their 3rd or 4th purchase with
Discounts are also usually preferred
your brand. Customers feel valued
methods of rewarding trustworthy
when you provide exclusive discount
customers according to our survey
codes for them.
results, with 41.7% responses,
followed by referral discounts, loyalty
For example, you can provide free
programs and then freebies.
shipping for customers above a certain
amount or give a 50% discount after
their 10th purchase.
 23
07 How does an eCommerce
platform evoke trust in online
shoppers?
An eCommerce platform needs to make
a good first impression on online
shoppers. A secure website with a safe
payment gateway lets customers feel
safe when shopping online.
Studies have shown that having their
own indepent online presence has
increased sales for online retailers.
But for consumers to successfully
purchase from these independent
brands, their initial apprehensions stem
from insecurity about the security of
their payment gateway and the
eCommerce platform.
In the surveys conducted by
Instamojo, 52% chose a secure
payment gateway as a primary reason
for completing a purchase.
Trust badges
A simple and effective way to solve this
is by putting up trust badges or icons
on your website's home page and
checkout page.
This shows online shoppers that your
website has been verified or evaluated
by a third party.
However, do not misuse these badges.
The trust badges or logos should only
be displayed if they have obtained
explicit permission to do so.
Always go through proper channels to
purchase these badges and/or fulfill the
requirements that are needed to display
them.
A key tip in establishing trust is to link
these trust badges back to their
respective platforms so that online
visitors have clarity on their relevance
and significance.
Here are some common examples of
trust badges that are good to have on
an website:
Encrypted website
Does not contain viruses or
malware
Doesn’t sell user information
Secure payment gateway
Shipping and returns
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022 24

It’s also good to have certifications and SSL certificate

licenses if applicable to your business.
An SSL certificate is a global website
For example, if you’re a food business,
security standard that enables
you need to be a FSSAI-certified brand.
encryption between a browser and a
server.
Ensuring that your business has gone
through the necessary requirements to
It enables you to transmit customers'
obtain these legal certifications and
sensitive data securely with less risk of
licenses also helps evoke trust in the
being attacked by a malicious attacker.
online shopper.
A majority of online shoppers are
It builds brand reputation and also
concerned about the website being
helps ease the apprehension that new
secure or insecure. So, you definitely
consumers have when deciding to
need to protect and get an SSL
purchase from a brand.
certificate for your online store.
If a customer has to decide between
You can easily purchase an SSL
two brands that are selling food online,
certificate from different sources or
one has the mandatory licence and one
even get one for free.
doesn’t.
If you are creating an online store on
Guess who will the customer turn to?
Instamojo, you get a website that
already is SSL certified.
 25
08 Relationship between the
eCommerce platform and
hosted brands
An eCommerce platform is nothing
without businesses and vendors who
choose to be ON that platform.
A business’s profit is the eCommerce
platform’s profit in the long run.
Similarly, the health and wealth of the
platform are inevitably tied to the
aspirations of the seller.
Typically, online sellers are of two types
- either they are transitioning from a
marketplace to their own platform to
reap larger benefits, or they are starting
out as brand new independent
eCommerce sellers.
In both these cases, the eCommerce
platform needs a thorough onboarding
process to ensure:
1. The online business shows a high
potential for business growth
2. The seller’s identities are verified for
risk assessment and security
purposes
3. The business is shown the right
features and tools according to its
growth stage
All three are vital in ensuring the
relationship between the seller and the
eCommerce platform starts off on the
right track.
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
Here are some important
steps that an eCommerce
platform must follow to
onboard sellers effectively:
1. Ensure there is interactive training
so that the sellers can utilise the
platform fully
2. Provide support for documentation
processes like GST registration and
invoices
3. Make the onboarding process as
simple as possible to limit drop-offs
Ensure there is prompt customer
service (Consider using live chats or
demo videos)
After a successful onboarding, you can
let the birds leave the nest by letting
them grow their business as they fit.
26
However, to remain trustworthy to the
online seller, you must constantly check
in with them to:
• Inform them of new features
• Let them know of features that will
specifically help the business
• Tell them about any sales or
discounts
• Publically support their journeys
through different types of content
collaborations
• Celebrate their milestones and
achievements
• Offer personalised discounts when
appropriate
• Offer excellent customer service to
these businesses
If up-and-coming DTC brands feel like
you have been able to give them the
springboard that they need to touch
great heights, as an eCommerce
platform you have succeeded.
 27

09 How does a DTC brand trust

an eCommerce platform?

From all the discussion above, it is On Instamojo’s poll of eCommerce

pretty evident, that customer
experience and customer satisfaction
should be at the centre of every online
seller’s business strategy.
This experience starts with a seamless
eCommerce website.
It becomes incredibly important
that the seller chooses their
eCommerce platform after
careful consideration.
sellers, the factors that were the most
important to them in choosing a
platform were -
• Security
• Customer service of the platform
• Control over business
• Ease of use
• Privacy of data
What’s the most important factor
while choosing an eCommerce
platform

As Senthil Hariram, the VP of Others

Neil Patel Digital India says - 12.5%

Control over
Your online store is the 24/7 your business
salesperson to the customer.

12.5%
Ease of use
16.7%
Customer service

8.3%
Privacy
20.8%
Security
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
As an eCommerce platform, the brand
is choosing to trust you in giving them
the services they require to
successfully scale their business.
When an independent seller chooses a
SaaS eCommerce platform to run their
business, they are not just getting a
platform to showcase their products.
They are also relying on the SaaS
provider to take care of the security
and PCI compliance that we spoke of
earlier.
In the event that the independent
online seller is unable to grasp certain
aspects of building a website, the
customer service of the platform must
be able to seamlessly solve any pain
points or queries.
28
Despite the platform giving the seller all
the tools they need to set up their
business, there should also be scope
for the seller to customise their store as
they see fit.
This is why APIs exist. APIs provide a
stage for the sellers to take charge by
inserting the code or scripts they need
for building additional features.
For an independent online seller, their
control over their own website is
crucial. They should be able to decide
the customer experience they want to
provide for their buyers.
As a B2B service provider, the
eCommerce platforms cannot
compromise on the quality of the stage
they set for the brand’s performance.
 29

10 Measuring trust and

loyalty in eCommerce

Every eCommerce business has certain
metrics they should keep track of to
understand and analyze their business
performance, like their profit margin,
customer acquisitions, etc.
However, there are specific metrics that
help you measure abstract concepts
such as brand loyalty and trust.
1. Net Promoter Score
As an eCommerce seller, NPS should
be a core KPI for your business
performance.
NPS measures the likelihood that your
consumer would promote or
recommend your brand to others.
Simply enough, if a customer likes your
product and service, they would
recommend you to others - you get a
high NPS score.
On the other hand, provide the user
with a bad experience, and you get
shunned because of a low NPS score.
A consumer will give the brand a score
between 1-10. These scores can be
divided into 3 groups -

An NPS score is usually given on a scale from 1-10.

These scores can be divided into 3 groups -

Detractors Passives Promoters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not at all likely Extremely likely

to recommend
NPS = % - % to recommend
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
Based on that, your final NPS score is
going to be calculated by a simple
formula:
%Promoters – %Detractors = NPS
score
In eCommerce, the NPS benchmark
score is 62 currently. It’s a huge jump
from 45 in 2021.
So aim, to get above 40, if you reach
above 60 - your online business is
doing exremey well9.
Knowing the relative NPS benchmark in
your industry helps. Microsoft enjoys an
NPS of 69, and Tesla, 97%. But in no
way can they be compared.
2. Customer retention rate
Businesses with repeat customers
make the most profit. This is because
the cost of acquiring new customers
gets lowered and the overall profit
increases.
Measuring retention rate can help you
understand if the customer returns for
purchase over an extended period of
time.
Customer retention rate measures
repeat purchases by a customer over a
prolonged period of time.
9 What is a Good Net Promoter Score? (2022 NPS Benchmark)
30
Apart from having a good product,
there are a few marketing techniques
that you can follow to increase the
retention rate.
Personalisation, loyalty programs and
referrals are some strategies that you
can follow to get customers coming
back for more.
3. Customer Lifetime Value
In any business, there is always a cost
of acquiring a new customer.
This is why businesses are always
recommended to keep their current
customers happy instead of focusing all
their money and efforts on getting new
customers.
However, CLV provides a valuable
measurement that represents the
difference between the long-term
revenue that a customer generates and
the cost of acquiring that particular
customer's lifespan.
For an eCommerce business, CLV is
one of the most valuable metrics to
track.
31
If the CLV of one customer is high, that
usually means that customer -
• Really likes your products
• Are satisfied with your services
• Gives genuinely constructive
reviews and testimonials
• Refers your online business to other
people
• Experiments with new launches
Is the customer bringing in more money
than you spent on keeping them as a
customer?
CLV is calculated by measuring the
average of the revenue generated by
the customer over their entire
relationship with a company.
Here are the 5 hacks that can help
business owners increase customer
lifetime value when they sell online:
• Recognize potential points of
interaction throughout the customer
journey
• Personalising communications for
better customer experience
• Omnichannel communications as the
need of the hour
• Automation is the magic potion
• Happy employees = Happy
customers
The eCommerce Trust Report 2022
Conclusion
Building trust is the most
important precursor to
sustainable relationships.
In the eCommerce ecosystem,
where one successful transaction
is dependent upon multiple
stakeholders, no particular
individual holds the onus for
building this ‘trust’.
To see the highest rates of
conversion and long-term profits,
eCommerce sellers, the
eCommerce platform and the
buyer all need to take certain
steps that lead to a conducive
and prosperous environment.
The linear flow for building trust
first starts with an impression.
The information that an online
visitor receives when visiting an
eCommerce website of an
independent brand, gives the
visitor necessary cues that allow
them to move ahead in their
buyer journey.
The next stage is when the social
proof of the online seller and the
product or services being sold,
convinces the buyer that their
financial transaction will not be in
vain.
32
The glue that holds these
together is the visible guarantees
like return policies, trust badges,
terms and conditions, insurances
etc. that ensure all stakeholders
of security, safety and of
minimum risk.
The surveys conducted by
Instamojo show and highlight the
specific pain points that each
stakeholder suffers from the
most.
The ideal eCommerce ecosystem
will have an infrastructure in
place that aims at reducing each
of these pain points meticulously
and with integrity.
For independent DTC online
sellers, recognizing what the
consumer wants and giving it to
them in the simplest manner
possible is the ultimate magic
potion!
 This report was brought to you by Instamojo and partners

Powering 20,00,000 +
businesses like yours in India

Instamojo is India’s simplest online selling platform. We power small,

independent businesses, MSMEs & startups with online stores and
online payment solutions to run an online business successfully.

Grow your business with Instamojo

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