Analysts named the main factors of trust in products on marketplaces

For the majority (87%) of marketplace buyers, a detailed product description, high rating, and reviews with photos and videos arouse no less confidence than a live inspection of the product. This is evidenced by the results of a joint study by the VTsIOM analytical center and the Association of Digital Platforms.

According to data presented at the Digital Solutions forum by Mikhail Utkin, Director of the Investment Climate Development Division of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, 68.6% of marketplace buyers trust a detailed description of product characteristics the most. If the position also has a high rating, the share of those who are confident in its quality increases to 83.2%, and if there are reviews with photos and videos, to 87.4%.

At the same time, a full set of 12 digital reputation markers, including the seller's rating, the duration of his work on the platform, the number of completed orders, product photos and quality certificates, cannot replace live inspection of goods for only 10% of buyers.

"Russian platforms have managed to build a system that most people trust no less than their eyes. The buyer sees information about the seller and reviews from millions of other consumers, can check the documents and easily return low-quality goods. This has not only brought trust in online shopping to a historically high level, but has also created conditions in which it is difficult for unscrupulous sellers to operate successfully: people simply do not buy goods without documents, with low ratings and negative reviews," the Association of Digital Platforms commented.

Igor Zimin, Vice President of Government Relations at Ozon, noted that every second customer opens reviews, photos and videos from other customers before ordering, and their share is steadily growing. "And the appearance of ratings and first reviews in the card increases product sales by an average of 20%. This is the economy of trust in action. There is a lot of technological work behind this. Every day, our ML models check about 22 million product cards, looking for errors and violations. We have also integrated with government databases. The law on the platform economy has strengthened control mechanisms, and we support this, because market transparency benefits both buyers and bona fide sellers," he said.

According to Pavel Tikhonov, Avito Part-Time GR Director, trust in the digital environment is formed through a digital footprint. "The more transparent the user's path, the higher the confidence in the platform. According to Avito Part—time research, 90% of people consider a detailed description of the task important, 88% — data security, 85% — relevance of offers, and 80% - a convenient payment method. These data confirm that people trust more when they see clear and understandable information. The platform should lead from a search to a predictable transaction — this is how a wide range of trust in the labor market is formed," Tikhonov believes.