When it comes to shopping online, being able to trust a retailer to preserve the privacy of its customers is the key element which determines whether consumers are willing to engage with a business.

This is exemplified in a new survey from Ipsos and a number of partner organisations which revealed that almost half of all people said that not being able to trust e-commerce sites was the chief cause of their reluctance to make online purchases, according to Finextra.

Analysts argue that trust in online outlets has taken a number of hits in the past couple of years, with high profile breaches causing consumers to think twice before they shop online.

Eighty two per cent cited cybercrime as their biggest worry in the digital sphere, with report spokesperson, Fen Osler Hampson, saying that trust levels correlate directly with how healthy the online retail market is at any given moment.

Of course, there are variations in how willing people are to trust a site that purports to offer shopping online depending on where it is based. Retailers operating in places like Africa and South America are less likely to inspire confidence in shoppers than those in countries like the UK and the US.

The survey also highlights the differing trends that exist around the world in terms of how consumers are using digital services to carry out financial transactions. Smartphone payments are dominant in places like China and India, with more than four in five people using their mobile to transfer money, while fewer than a third of consumers are similarly enamoured by this technology in Europe.

Experts claim that governments need to do more to provide consumers with the protections they need to shop online with confidence, addressing some of the concerns about trust which are present in many places.