Edelman Reveals Insights on Consumer Trust

Respondents, by nearly a two-to-one margin, feel innovation is being poorly managed, Edelman Trust Barometer revealed.

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer revealed a rift between innovation and society that has become the new factor causing further polarisation. Respondents, by nearly a two-to-one margin, feel innovation is being poorly managed; this is true across age groups, income levels, and gender, and in both developed and developing countries people are more likely to say innovation is poorly managed than well managed. Innovations have also become politicised, especially in Western democracies where right-leaning individuals are far more likely than those on the left to reject them; the biggest differences between those on the right and left are in the U.S. (41 points), Australia (23 points), Germany (20 points), and Canada (18 points).

Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, said, “Innovation is accelerating and should be a growth enabler, but it will be stymied if business doesn’t pay as much attention to acceptance as it does research and development. More than two-thirds of our respondents who say innovation is poorly managed believe society is changing too quickly and not in ways that benefit ‘people like me’ (69 per cent). The mass-class divide, the huge imbalance in trust between business and government and the infodemic have been the forces behind the decline in trust and the rise of polarisation. Fear of innovation has now become the fourth log on the populism fire.”

Kirsty Graham, President, Global Practices and Sectors at Edelman, said, “Against the backdrop of the biggest global election year in history with more than 50 elections slated to take place, trust is under siege from a number of forces. Concern over the impacts of innovation and those driving it have led to greater suspicion of economic and political systems. Institutions must work together to help address these concerns to allow a pathway for continued innovation and progress.”