Hong Kong – Nearly all consumers in Hong Kong take action when they no longer believe a brand, with most choosing to quietly stop buying rather than publicly voice their dissatisfaction, according to new research from Ogilvy.
The agency’s latest study conducted in partnership with YouGov, found that 94% of Hong Kong consumers have responded to declining brand credibility by changing their behaviour.
Among them, 61% said they had stopped engaging with or purchasing from a brand over the past year because they no longer believed its claims.
The findings point to what Ogilvy describes as a growing “believability economy”, where consumers increasingly expect brands to back up their promises with proof rather than marketing claims.
While public criticism often attracts the most attention, the study found that consumers are more likely to disengage quietly.
Eighty-nine percent of respondents said they preferred “silent disengagement”, with 46% stopping purchases altogether and 32% switching to competing brands.
Meanwhile, 58% said they had taken more visible actions, including warning friends and family, leaving negative reviews, reporting misleading content, or sharing their experiences online.
“The research findings are a stark wake-up call for brands and organisations, and show believability makes or breaks consumer decisions in immediate and severe ways,” said Clara Shek, President of Ogilvy Public Relations Hong Kong.
She added that brands often underestimate the impact of consumers who simply leave without complaint, making silent disengagement a significant commercial risk.
The research identified poor customer experiences as the biggest driver of distrust.
Thirty-four percent of respondents said products or services failed to live up to brand promises, while 29% pointed to poor handling of problems or mistakes.
Another 27% cited unethical business practices, followed by exaggerated or misleading communications (25%) and failure to respond to customer concerns (24%).
When assessing whether to believe a brand, Hong Kong consumers place the greatest trust in credible sources rather than promotional content.
Trusted sources (43%), personal knowledge or experience (34%), and official or institutional information (30%) ranked as the strongest influences on believability, while influencer content and social media engagement metrics were among the least persuasive.
The study also found that traditional news media remains the most trusted communication channel for brands, with 58% of respondents saying it increased their confidence in a brand.
Official brand-owned channels followed at 50%, while influencer content and private messaging platforms generated almost equal levels of trust and scepticism.
Despite widespread scepticism, consumers remain open to rebuilding trust.
Eighty-two percent of respondents said brands can regain credibility, with fixing problems (50%), publicly acknowledging mistakes (40%), and consistently demonstrating accuracy (40%) emerging as the most effective ways to restore confidence.
Transparency alone was considered sufficient by just 29% of respondents.
