While cost remains a top priority for consumers — 55% say they’ll choose a different brand over their go-to for a better price or promotion — Salsify’s “Ecommerce Pulse Report: Q4 2025,” reveals an interesting paradox.
Nearly nine out of 10 shoppers will pay more for products because they trust the brand.
But what conditions make this possible, and how do brands strike the right balance between price and value to keep customers coming back? Let’s dig in.
The true cost of a product or service involves two components: price and value.
And according to research from Deloitte, between 10% and 40% of value perceptions stem from factors other than price.
While price is objective, value is subjective. Brand trust increases value, which in turn changes customer buying behavior. Value encompasses characteristics like reputation, quality, transparency, and attitude.
Brand reputation has the power to drive sales or drive shoppers away. According to research from the University of Missouri, negative brand reputation has a significant influence on consumers.
While it’s possible to mitigate negative reputation in one area with positive reputation in another — for example, high product quality may offset poor customer service — reputation plays a critical role in shoppers’ value assessments.
Brands that deliver high-quality products and services often outperform those without, but what constitutes quality differs by industry; quality in food sales is often tied to taste and consistency, while quality in the automotive industry is tied to reliability.
According to eMarketer, more than 65% of shoppers said that being transparent about personal data usage would help a company gain their trust.
Transparency also extends into pricing decisions, product features, and environmental efforts. In short, anything that impacts customer experience or perception of your brand should be as honest and accessible as possible.
Attitude also plays a meaningful role, with Deloitte’s research noting that high-value companies are “seen as more friendly, helpful, and effective, reflecting superior employee interactions and service standards.”
Spending habits and price sensitivity vary across generations.
For example, 41% of millennials plan to spend more in 2026, but just 11% of baby boomers say the same. Does this mean millennials are always prepared to pay more for their preferred brand, while baby boomers jump ship? Not exactly.
The majority of millennials (80%) and 76% of Gen Z have purchased products from new brands instead of their go-to brands, but only 57% of baby boomers say the same.
The top reason among generations for swapping brands is better pricing and promotions (55%), followed by better reviews and ratings (28%) and better product content or shopping experience (22%).
It’s also worth noting that how and where consumers shop is also impacted by age.
Want to reach baby boomers or Gen X? They favor online marketplaces like Amazon, according to Salsify research. Looking for millennials? Search engines like Google are their preferred starting point for discovering new products and brands. Seeking Gen Z? You’ll find them throughout their buying journey on social media hubs like TikTok.
Interestingly, all four generations say they’re often shopping in-store while discovering new products and brands.
This speaks to the power of physical interaction with products as part of value assessment. No matter how great your product pages or how engaging your content, physical contact is irreplaceable.
Product quality remains a key driver of value. No matter how good your customer service or how reasonable your price points, you can’t cover poor product quality.
You can, however, accidentally weaken great product quality with poor product content quality, thus lowering consumer trust.
Content includes descriptions and images, details about pricing, shipping, and other costs on product pages, as well as any content published on your website or third-party sites about your products. Poor content quality occurs when this information is incorrect, inconsistent, or missing across sites.
Salsify’s report found that product content significantly influences shopper purchases:
Therefore, even a few inconsistencies or outdated content across sites puts your brand at risk of losing sales.
Here are four strategies to help your brand communicate value in ways that build brand trust.
More than 60% of shoppers have left a product rating or review in the last year. Of those who left reviews or ratings:
Additionally, 32% of customers use ratings and reviews to make final buying decisions (up 7% from 2024). This feedback is a clear indication of the value customers place on your brand.
Reviews themselves, however, only tell half the story.
The second section is response: What does your brand do with the reviews and ratings it receives? Here, your best bet is to create a standardized process.
For example, you might have staff respond directly to reviews on their platform of origin — such as social media sites, dedicated review sites, or emails — and then follow up with customers to identify areas for improvement.
Practicing R&R can help boost customer trust and increase overall value.
Because different generations frequent different channels, it’s important to connect with consumers when and where they prefer to shop — while keeping how they shop top of mind.
Marketing strategies should leverage the power of social influence and the impact of strategically placed links in short-form videos or personalized emails.
Shoppers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to discover and research new products at increasing levels. Gen Z leads the way with 79%, followed by millennials at 77% and Gen X at 60%.
Brands that practice AI-inclusive strategies, such as generative engine optimization (GEO), are more likely to have their product and webpage content show up in search engine summaries.
In practice, this requires a conversational approach. Generative AI tools rely on natural language processing frameworks designed to analyze both the content and context of human conversations. The same rules apply to web content.
As a result, sales-driven content is less likely to get noticed by AI engines, while value-driven content, such as blogs or in-depth product feature analysis, can help companies stand out.
Conversation helps brands boost GEO, in turn boosting overall value.
Three components are essential for brand trust: transparency, consistency, and loyalty.
Price is a priority for consumers, but it’s not the whole story. Trust builds value, and value helps reduce price sensitivity and encourages the creation of long-lasting customer relationships.
Trust isn’t built in a single day or earned with a solitary action, however. It’s a process that requires brands to gather reviews and respond, embrace conversational AI, and mind the trust trifecta.