Dr Amna Khan is a renowned retail and consumer behaviour expert with a PhD in trust development from Alliance Manchester Business School. She's observed the trust contract between businesses and consumers unravel in real time. She joins Natalie Berg to unpack what this means for retailers and brands.
What you'll learn:
- Why emotional trust survives where cognitive trust collapses.
- Why founder-led brands like P. Louise are flourishing and how transparency strengthens trust when things go wrong.
- How Gen Z discover products through creators, not advertising — and how that permanently rewires the path to purchase.
- The imperfection advantage. AI-generated content is flooding every channel. Human flaws — typos, rough edges, unscripted moments — are becoming the new trust signals.
- Where AI helps vs where it hurts. Holland & Barrett uses AI to free up staff for personalised advice. But when AI generates flawless, homogenous content, consumers trust it less — not more.
- What AI agents will do to your brand if you haven't built trust by 2027.
CHAPTERS
0:00 The Trust Shift
2:33 Why Business Leaders Are Wrong About Trust
5:37 Where Does Trust Matter Most - Pre- or Post-Purchase?
7:02 Generation by Generation: How Trust Shifts
11:19 The Influencer Who Out-Trusts Your Brand
16:01 What P. Louise Got Right
20:25 Is AI Accelerating the Erosion of Trust?
26:05 Why Natalie Likes Typos and Why Imperfection Matters
30:08 What Happens When AI Shops For You
For retail leaders, this isn't a branding conversation. It's an infrastructure decision.
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🎙️ Retail Disrupted is a Top 5% Global Podcast with the leaders and disruptors shaping the future of retail. Hosted by retail analyst Natalie Berg.
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