Consumers Want Personalization and Privacy

New survey shows that consumers want to receive personalized offers, but are hesitant to provide personal information.

March 11, 2015

New York – While it may not come as a surprise, new data shows that U.S. consumers want to have their cake and eat it too. According to a survey released this week by Accenture, Americans want a more personalized retail experience but remain conflicted about disclosing the type of personal information that goes along with it. For example: Nearly 60% of those surveyed want real-time promotions and offers, yet only 20% want retailers to know their current location and only 14% want to share their browsing history.

Despite an overwhelming desire to protect their personal data — 90% of respondents said if the option was available, they would limit access to certain types of personal data and would stop retailers from selling their information to third parties — consumers are somewhat willing to share certain personal details with retailers. Consumers would share personal details including demographic information such as gender (65%), age (53%) and contact information (52%). But only 24% would share their contact information on social media.

Other findings from the “Accenture Personalization Survey” include:

  • Almost half (48%) say they don’t like the idea of in-store purchases being charged automatically to their account without them taking out their wallet or mobile phone.
  • As part of the information exchange for a more personalized retail experience consumers also expect to get something in return. The key benefits cited include: access to exclusive deals (64%), automatic crediting for coupons and loyalty points (64%), a one-time discount (61%) or special offers (61%).
  • Baby Boomers are more demanding than Millennials when it comes to receiving benefits in exchange for their data. Almost three-quarters (74%) expect to get automatic crediting for coupons and loyalty points, and 70% expect special offers for items they are interested in, versus 58% and 61% of Millennials, respectively.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement