Trust in Sampling Still Going Strong

The most comprehensive survey of Canadians’ views on trust, released today in the 2018 CanTrust Index,
reveals consumers continue to place the highest levels of trust in word of mouth and sampling a product or service when it comes to sources of information.

In fact, Canadians’ trust in their own direct experience with brands, services or products has increased from 73% in 2016 to 76% in 2018. Word of mouth recommendations from people they know came in tied for first place in 2018 at 76%.

“We see how attitudes and behaviours change when people are given an opportunity to experience a product first-hand or learn about a new service from a trusted, knowledgeable source,” said Lisa Barrans, president of Proof Experiences. The third and fourth most trusted sources of information are editorial content and online reviews at 54% and 51% respectively. Trust in traditional advertising and online advertising scored relatively low at 39% and 28% respectively.

Looking closer at the results as they relate to experiential marketing, females (79%), young millennials (80%) place trust in word of mouth and sampling a product or service at levels significantly above the national average. Newcomers to Canada (79%) also place trust in word of mouth significantly above the national average.

The 2018 Proof Inc. CanTrust Index, based upon an annual online survey of a sample of 1,560 Canadians 18+ years of age, was conducted between January 18 and February 5, 2018. It is nationally represented by region, age and gender.

Full CanTrust Index 2018 study below.