The Influence of Social Proof on Consumer Trust in New Online Stores

This study aims to analyze how social proof signals build the legitimacy of student start-up businesses and identify the extent to which these external signals can reduce skepticism towards entities that do not yet have historical credibility. Using a correlational quantitative approach, data was collected through a survey of 50 students from the Entrepreneurship Study Program at Makassar State University, who were selected through purposive sampling with the criterion of having mature online shopping experience. Simple linear regression analysis shows that Social Proof has a positive and significant effect on Consumer Trust, indicating a very strong association between the two variables. These findings conclude that social proof is a fundamental determinant in mitigating information asymmetry and building digital reputation capital for startup businesses.