After years of being duped by fake reviews for such things as products, restaurants, Airbnbs, and financial opportunities, consumers are said to be back to depending more on recognized brands for security, quality, safety, and reliance. According to the consulting firm Accenture, almost half of U.S. consumers were scammed out of personal information or money in 2024, while 39 percent had seen fraudulent product reviews online.
An investigation conducted by The New Consumer, a research company, revealed that over a quarter of TikTok users don’t trust the platform with their credit card information, and 14 percent said the prices listed on the site seem too good to be true.
The security blanket that brands offer is the trust that consumers are seeking. As the December 27, 2024 edition of The Wall Street Journal said: “The pervasive online distrust will make tried-and true household names more valuable.”
Way back in September 2020, CNBC reported (see above photo) that Amazon had removed 20,000 reviews after an investigation found that the top Amazon reviewers in the U.K. were engaging in fraud.
What makes a brand more valuable these days is advertising in traditional media, like broadcast television, especially for sporting events, since, according to researcher Forrester, 20 percent of U.S.-based Millennials and Zoomers are interested in sports, compared to just eight percent of Gen Xers.
Leave A Comment