Trust Badges for E-Commerce: 10 Types You Can’t Ignore

Trust is a valuable asset for any e-commerce brand.

Fact is, the more consumers trust you, the more likely they are to buy from you – and the more they’ll spend.

According to Salsify, 87% of shoppers would pay more for a product from a brand they trust, rising to 90% among Millennials and 88% for Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers:

As the name suggests, trust badges play a key role in building trust in your store. Read on to learn which trust badges to use, where to find them, and more…

#1: Guaranteed Secure Checkout Badge

Naturally, you want every customer who visits your store to trust you.

But it’s especially important to convince those who are in the process of purchasing a product. These shoppers are right at the bottom of the sales funnel – and if they don’t buy from you right now, there’s a good chance they’ll go to a rival instead.

That’s why it makes sense to demonstrate that your checkout process is safe by using a secure checkout badge like the Norton seal:

To get one of these badges, you’ll need to sign up with a company that provides SSL certification, such as:

• Comodo
• DigiCert
• GoDaddy

There are plenty of options for secure checkout trust badges. But, as we’ll discuss later in this article, some trust badge brand names are more impactful than others. When it comes to demonstrating the security of your checkout process, it pays to go with a trusted, well-known name.

#2: Free Shipping and Returns Badge

Did you know that 48% of consumers who abandon their online shopping carts do so because the extra costs – like fees, shipping, and taxes – were too high?

Or that eight in 10 are willing to meet a minimum purchase threshold to qualify for free shipping, with the average consumer happy to pay up to $40?

All of which means that offering free shipping can increase both your e-commerce conversion rate and your average order value.

Nice!

But it’s not just about creating a free shipping offer – you also have to promote it effectively. And adding a free shipping (and/or free shipping and returns) trust badge can help you do just that.

Here’s a simple example from our demo store, made using the Flair app:

#3: Accepted Payment Badge

Another juicy e-commerce statistic for you: 13% of consumers have abandoned an online shopping cart because the store didn’t offer enough payment methods.

Put their minds at rest by using accepted payment trust badges to clearly demonstrate which payment methods you support. Here’s what the Visa Secure badge looks like…

…but there are plenty more examples, from American Express and Mastercard to Apple Pay and PayPal.

The best thing about these trust badges is that they don’t just show customers which payment methods you accept – they also add credibility to your store by associating you with a bunch of household-name payment providers.

#4: Money-Back Guarantee Badge

Converting returning customers is pretty easy – if they bought from you once and came back, there’s a good chance they’ll buy again.

The real challenge lies in generating that initial purchase.

Unless you’re a household name, first-time buyers might have a ton of potential concerns about your store. Will this product look like it does in the pictures? Will it fit right? Will it fall apart in a week?

You can go a long way toward easing those doubts by offering a money-back guarantee and promoting it with trust badges, like in this example from our demo store:

Just be sure you clearly spell out the terms of your money-back guarantee (like how long it lasts and whether it includes any conditions). The more transparent you are, the more trustworthy you’ll seem.

#5: Best-Selling Product Badge

One of the most powerful ways to build trust with your audience is through social proof – the concept that we’re more likely to take a certain action if other people do it first.

(Especially if we admire and respect those people.)

Use this psychological phenomenon to your advantage with product badges that highlight your bestsellers, like in this example from our demo store:

It’s a simple idea – if lots of other people bought this item, it must be good. Better buy one myself!

PUBNOTE add Flair CTA

#6: Low-Stock Badge

Another way to highlight top-selling products is through a low-stock badge like this one:

This is a similar tactic to using best-seller product badges. But rather than “just” building trust through social proof, you’re also creating a feeling of urgency and scarcity – which can help to increase your store’s conversion rate.

For best results, be sure to tell customers exactly how many units are left in stock, and update your inventory in real time so you don’t accidentally oversell a product (hint: Flair can do this for you).

#7: Third-Party Accreditation Badge

A recommendation from a trusted third party can go a long way to making your store look legit.

So if you’ve got a positive rating from an organization like the Better Business Bureau (BBB), make sure to display it on your website, just like hardware brand Toolbox Supply does here:

The footer is a popular location for this sort of trust badge. But you might also consider adding them in more prominent positions on collection and product pages to help persuade shoppers on the path to purchase.

#8: Review Badge

Reviews are hard to beat when it comes to convincing shoppers that your store is trustworthy.

Indeed, research shows that almost all consumers consult reviews when shopping online, with 98% describing them as an “essential resource” when making purchase decisions.

That’s why you should encourage as many customers as possible to review your products.

However, there’s a problem: consumers are a skeptical bunch, and they won’t simply take the review scores on your website at face value. Three in five shoppers on direct-to-consumer stores conduct their own research on third-party review sites before feeling confident enough to buy from a brand they don’t know.

In other words, it makes sense to leverage an external consumer review platform like…

• Google Reviews
• PowerReviews
• Trustpilot

…then use a trust badge from your chosen platform to show off all your amazing customer reviews. Just like this example from pet products brand Dog Tag Art:

#9: Sustainability Badge

Some 46% of consumers want brands to take the lead on delivering sustainable change, while 66% seek out eco-friendly brands and products – and 55% would even pay a premium for sustainable brands.

But don’t expect shoppers to just take your word for it, because three in four think companies exaggerate their sustainability efforts. What’s more, one-third have researched brands to ensure they’re delivering on their sustainability pledges.

So, provided you’re actually bringing your eco-friendly plans to life, it makes sense to shout about it.

Do it with trust badges from sustainability organizations like B Corporation and The Carbon Trust, just like sports apparel brand The Long Run Club does here:

#10: Branded Logo Badge

For the most part, consumers are far more likely to trust* brands they know*.

Stands to reason, right? Whether or not you love Coca-Cola or McDonald’s or Nike, you know what to expect from them. And you also know that if you’re not satisfied, you’ll be able to get a refund or exchange without too much hassle.

On the flip side, buying from unknown brands is more of a leap of faith.

So if you’re an online retailer selling products from big third-party brands, it makes sense to give shoppers a taste of the familiar by displaying branded logo badges across your store.

Streetwear store Karmaloop does this by adding a banner full of brand logos to its homepage:

Do Trust Badges Improve Conversion Rates?

Okay, so we know that consumers prefer to buy from trusted brands and retailers. And we know that displaying trust badges on your store can help you look more credible.

But just how effective are trust badges? And can they really improve your store’s conversion rate?

To answer those questions, let’s take a look at some third-party research from the folks at TrustedSite.

They found that 90% of consumers have abandoned an online purchase due to some sort of concern – and that 46% did so because they had doubts about the legitimacy of the business.

What’s causing all those concerns? Well, 40%+ of shoppers admit they’re worried when a website lacks “third-party trust indicators” (AKA trust badges).

By contrast, over four-fifths of consumers are more likely to trust a site with a prominent third-party trust badge, while an impressive nine in 10 are more likely to buy from a store displaying a TrustedSite certification.

Sure, this research comes from TrustedSite, so it’s hardly impartial.

But it’s basically saying the same as all the other studies we’ve seen on the subject: trust badges reassure consumers. And when they feel reassured, they’re more likely to buy.

Which Trust Badges Are Most Effective?

So consumers like trust badges.

However, in reality, it’s a little more complex than that – because some trust badges are more effective than others.

TrustedSite asked consumers to rate the persuasiveness of several types of trust badge certifications. Top rankings went to:

• Data protection
• Verified business
• Certified secure

Meanwhile, a study conducted by the CXL Institute declared:

“When shopping online, a PayPal Trust Seal added significantly more security than any other [trust badge].”

Other big names – like Norton, Google Trusted Store, Visa, Mastercard, and the Better Business Bureau – were also highly rated by shoppers in the CXL research.

Finally, let’s check out a study from the Baymard Institute, which asked consumers to rate which badges give them the greatest feeling of trust when paying online.

This time, Norton was the clear winner, followed by Google and the BBB.

Interestingly, Baymard also included a generic trust badge in its survey – and it outperformed genuine badges from TRUSTe, Comodo, GeoTrust, and Thawte.

Baymard didn’t speculate on the reasons for this. But, to us, it suggests two things:

• Consumers aren’t necessarily aware of all the different third-party trust badges that exist.
• While big-name trust badges are most effective, any badge can have a positive impact on your store – even if it’s totally made up!

And if that doesn’t persuade you to add a trust badge or two to your store, we don’t know what will.

How To Add Trust Badges To Your Shopify Store

There are multiple ways to add trust badges to a Shopify store, including:

• In the description section of product pages: This simple, manual approach involves pasting a trust badge image onto individual product pages.
• Anywhere (via Liquid code): Alternatively, if you’re comfortable editing your store’s Liquid code, you can add trust badges to any section of a product page – or anywhere else, for that matter.
• On the checkout page: Shopify doesn’t let you make extensive changes to your checkout page (unless you upgrade to Shopify Plus, that is). But you can add trust badges to the checkout screen by customizing your Shopify theme.

The process varies based on where, exactly, you’re trying to add the trust badge. Your Shopify plan and theme can also affect the process.

3 Free Trust Badge Resources

Unless you’re going to create your own trust badges using a Shopify product label app like Flair, you’ll have to get them from some sort of third-party resource.

And you won’t be shocked to learn that a lot of those resources will charge you for using their trust badges.

Not all of them, though. Here are three places to find free trust badges for your store:

PayPal

If you accept payments from PayPal, you can use their free trust badges to demonstrate that your store is legit.

And remember: CXL found that PayPal’s trust seal is more effective than any other trust badge.

👉 To access PayPal’s range of badges and logos, visit the PayPal Logo Center and copy the relevant source code.

Convertful

Convertful is an AI-powered tool that helps businesses in various industries to turn website visitors into leads.

Whether or not you’re interested in paying for their service, they offer a bundle of 60 free trust badges designed to overcome sales objections like:

• Lack of payment options
• Slow delivery
• Poor returns policy

👉 Download them here.

TrustLock

TrustLock is a dedicated trust badge provider that charges up to $27.99 per month for their various verifications.

But they offer 120+ free website trust badges and seals that you can display on your store without a subscription, provided you use TrustLock’s embedded code that links back to the company’s website.

👉 Browse TrustLock’s free trust badges here.

FAQs

What is a trust badge?

A trust badge is a symbol or icon designed to show visitors that a website is secure and trustworthy. They typically include logos from high-profile payment processors (like Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa), as well as security certifications like SSL encryption.

Why should you use trust badges?

The whole point of using trust badges is to persuade visitors that your website is credible and trustworthy. From an e-commerce perspective, trust badges can reduce shopping cart abandonments and increase your conversion rate.

Where should trust badges be placed for maximum impact?

The ideal trust badge placement varies depending on the type of badge you’re using. For example, payment-related trust badges are most effective on product and checkout pages, whereas badges that speak to the overall reputation of your business – like BBB certification – work best in your store’s footer.