A trustmark helps to reassure a consumer when it comes to ordering from a web shop. They are an important factor regarding the trustworthiness of an e-commerce shop. However, fake marks are achieving the same results.

A German student carried out an online survey during her thesis at the Hochschule Fresenius. She carried out an online survey among 1,007 Germans to ask them about using trustmarks as a green light.

Results on trustmarks

The research shows that a high degree of confidence is built through trustmarks. Approximately 67% even said that the seal of approval plays a major role in buying from web shops that they are not familiar with. However, a fake trustmark that was created for research purposes scored higher on awareness than an existing trustmark. Even though there was little to no knowledge of the contents of some seals, it did not affect the trust-promoting effect of the mark.

The study also shows that the more trustmarks a website carries, the more it is perceived as trustworthy. It is recommended to use a seal of approval on a webshop, but apparently, it is not necessary to choose the most expensive or well-known trustmark.

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