The data behind what drives today’s brand buying decisions.

It’s clear that the first quarter has shown just how strongly brand trust is shaping buying decisions, and the rest of 2026 is only reinforcing that trend. Customers are more informed, more discerning, and far less forgiving.

The data shows that trust determines who earns attention, wins loyalty, and who grows as consumers reward the brands that show up with integrity and walk away from the ones that don’t.

The stats speak for themselves.

The Trust Baseline

• 81% of consumers need to trust a brand to consider buying from it.
• 90% of executives think customers “highly trust” their companies, but only 30% of customers actually say they trust brands  — a massive perception gap.
• 89% of customers expect to end their relationship with a brand if it violates their trust.

The Revenue Case for Trust

• 87% of shoppers are willing to pay more for products from brands they trust.
• A 5% increase in brand loyalty can boost profits by up to 95%.
• Purpose-led brands grew revenue at 2.3x the rate of their category averages, with top-quartile brands delivering $1.2 trillion in combined market cap growth over 24 months.

Authenticity & Transparency

• 96% of consumers say brand transparency is important for earning their loyalty.
• 94% of consumers stay loyal to brands that are open and honest.
• 86% of consumers say they can tell the difference between brand-created content and user-generated content; authenticity is hard to fake.

Values Alignment

• 71% of global consumers boycotted at least one brand in the past year due to values misalignment, with the average boycotter influencing 14 additional purchase decisions in their network.
• 53% of people assume a brand is inactive or hiding something if it doesn’t speak about its actions on social issues.

Consistency

• Brands with consistent presentation are 3.5x more visible, and companies maintaining branding consistency see revenue grow by up to 23%.
• 90% of consumers expect a seamless brand experience across all touchpoints.

Social Proof

• 92% of consumers trust earned media — recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.
• 80% of online shoppers would consider buying from a website that has user-generated content and testimonials.

Sources: Edelman Trust Barometer, Salsify Consumer Research, Harvard Business Review, Nielsen, Lucidpress, Sprout Social — 2026 editions