Forget being cancelled, consumers are quietly leaving brands they don't believe in

Brands may be watching the wrong signals when it comes to reputation, with 93% of consumers across Asia Pacific choosing to quietly disengage from brands they no longer believe in rather than publicly complaining, according to new research from Ogilvy.

The finding suggests marketers relying heavily on social listening and online sentiment could be overlooking a much larger commercial risk, as dissatisfied consumers increasingly choose to stop purchasing or switch to competitors without leaving a public digital trail.

The study, based on responses from 7,176 consumers across seven Asia Pacific markets, found that only one in 10 respondents would post about a negative brand experience on social media, despite 93% taking some form of silent action after losing trust in a brand.

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Instead, 48% said they would stop purchasing from the brand altogether, while 28% would quietly switch to a competitor. Another 36% said they would become more wary of similar brands, products or services. The trend was consistent across the region, ranging from 89% in Hong Kong SAR to 95% in Mainland China.

Beyond reputational fallout, the report also suggests brands should prioritise delivering on their core promise over purpose-led messaging.

Across APAC, 42% of consumers said they had abandoned a brand in the past year because its product or service failed to deliver on what was promised. This was notably higher than the 29% who walked away due to poor business ethics and the 18% who cited greenwashing or misleading sustainability claims as the reason for disengagement.

The report argues that while environmental and social commitments remain important, they cannot compensate for poor execution. Consumers also ranked factual correctness (65%) ahead of integrity (62%) and community commitment (45%) as the qualities they value most in brand spokespeople.

The research also highlights stark differences in what builds credibility across Asia Pacific markets, suggesting regional campaigns should avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.

In Singapore, 61% of respondents said government or official sources were the most believable on important issues, reflecting a stronger preference for institutional authority. Meanwhile, Australians (54%) and Filipinos (50%) were more likely to trust people with lived experience, underscoring the importance of peer recommendations and customer stories in those markets.

When brands do lose consumer belief, however, the outlook is not entirely bleak. 85% of respondents said lost belief can be regained, but actions matter more than apologies. 57% said actively fixing the problem was the most important step in restoring confidence, compared with 46% who prioritised a public acknowledgement of the mistake.

Younger consumers were also found to be both more sceptical and more forgiving. Three in four Gen Z and Millennial respondents said they had stopped engaging with a brand due to lost belief over the past year, compared with 58% of Baby Boomers. Yet 89% of Gen Z also believed brands could regain their trust, provided they demonstrated meaningful action and consistent accuracy over time. 

Ogilvy's findings build on earlier research pointing to the rise of "silent" consumer behaviour. A 2024 Qualtrics report found that consumers in Singapore were increasingly choosing not to voice dissatisfaction directly to brands. Since 2021, Singaporeans had become seven percentage points less likely to speak up after a bad experience, with most opting to tell family or friends instead.

Similarly, only around a third shared feedback directly with companies, while social media was the least preferred channel for complaints. At the time, Qualtrics warned that organisations could no longer rely solely on traditional feedback surveys to understand customer sentiment, arguing that brands needed to diversify how they listened to customers as silent dissatisfaction became more commonplace.

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