Perhaps more than ever before, trust is a leading driver of customer loyalty in the retail sector. Reputations that can be sunk almost instantly by a data breach may take years to recover in the fickle world of social media. But opportunities abound for visionary retailers who are willing to invest in earning their customers’ trust. Now is the time to take the plunge.

Consumers live in a 24/7 globally connected digital world, and because of it, companies that were quick to embrace digital disruption are the ones that now are building more meaningful brand-based relationships with their customers.