The Importance of Digital Trust in E-Commerce: Between Brand Image and Customer Loyalty

Abstract

Technology becomes an important part that cannot be separated from human life today, including the business world. The ease, speed, and practicality provided by technology indirectly changes people's lifestyles, both in social relations and product consumption behavior. Online shopping is one phenomenon that arises because of technological advancements. Simply access the internet with a device, customer can get the desired item without having to leave the house or need to go to the store. The shift in consumer spending patterns from traditional to digital also raises a new challenge, namely digital trust. If a conventional store guarantees service quality, it becomes a question of how e-commerce currently present in Indonesia is maintaining customer trust, especially when customer never meet seller face-to-face and only mediating using e-commerce platform. Through this research, the authors are interested in discussing (1) the importance of digital trust in e-commerce; (2) how digital trust affects the brand image of e-commerce; (3) how digital trust affects customer loyalty. This study uses a quantitative approach with methods of collecting data through questionnaires and observations e-commerce’s customer in Bandung, Indonesia.