Not as much as the budgets assume. A creator's recommendation is the weakest trust signal shoppers weigh, ranking last at 48 percent, behind secure payment (90 percent), a clear return policy (83 percent), a verified seller or brand badge (79 percent), and real customer reviews (77 percent).
Asked what makes them comfortable buying from a seller they do not know, shoppers point to the unglamorous mechanics of a safe transaction. Four of the five signals we tested clear the 75 percent importance bar. A creator's endorsement, the thing social commerce budgets are built around, sits alone at the bottom.
This does not make creators worthless. They are a discovery engine: they put products in front of people who were not looking. What they do not do is close the sale on trust. A shopper who finds a product through a creator still wants secure payment, a clear return path, a verified seller, and reviews before they buy.
The budget implication is direct. Money spent making a creator louder is not the same as money spent making a purchase feel safe. The brands that convert social discovery into sales build the trust signals shoppers actually rank, then let creators do the introductions.
The full data, including the cross-tabs behind these findings, is in the Social Commerce Intelligence Report 2026. The free executive summary covers the headline findings. The full report (PDF) is available at three license tiers.
ScrollSignal is an independent B2B research firm publishing original consumer research on social commerce. No platform funding. No sponsored findings. n = 1,000 active US social media shoppers, ages 18 to 64, fielded April 2026, stratified to US Census on age, gender, and region.