Member Article

Consumers are getting more comfortable with sharing data

New research from GDMA (Global Data and Marketing Alliance) reveals that consumers are much more comfortable with, and even see a value in, sharing data than they ever have been previously. This is especially true if they see a clear benefit of doing so.

More than half of the people surveyed (53%), across 16 countries, agree that the exchange of personal information is essential for the smooth running of modern society.

The vast majority of global consumers (82%) are prepared to engage with the data economy in 2022.

Trust in an organisation remains the most important factor driving consumers’ willingness to share personal information with a company. Over a third (38%) of consumers rank ‘trust in an organisation’ in the top three factors that make them happy to share data with an organisation.

Since the last iteration of this report in 2018, many countries have implemented new or updated data protection legislation, such as the introduction of GDPR across Europe.

However, when making like-for-like comparisons between 2018 and 2022, there are some important trends observed that show an increasingly positive public sentiment to data exchange.

In 2022, almost half (46%) of consumers feel more comfortable with the notion of data exchange with businesses – such agreement has grown from 40% in 2018.

In addition, 48% of consumers stated data exchange as essential for the running of modern society – rising significantly from 41% who stated this back in 2018.

Another interesting trend observed over the last four years is the rise of the ‘Data Unconcerned’ group; people who show little or no concern about their data privacy.

Some 31% of the population now fall into this category – up from 26% in 2018.

There is also a decline of ‘Data Fundamentalists’, who are unwilling to share personal information. 21% now state they fall into this cohort – 23% of people stated this back in 2018.

The largest group (47%) remain ‘Data Pragmatists’, who are happy to exchange data with businesses so long as there is a clear benefit for doing so.

If this trend is to continue and organisations are to reap the rewards of closer and more valuable relationships with their customers, it is essential that data hygiene rises up the agenda. We know that inaccurate data results in brand damage. For instance, by failing to adhere to article 5 of GDPR by not removing the details of customers that have passed away means that people that have been bereaved can receive communications in the name of the deceased, causing them further upset at an already distressing time. Research shows us that many bereaved people who have received such communications say that they would blacklist the organisation that had sent the mailing clearly impacting customer lifetime value. Furthermore, inaccurate data can also lead to degraded analytics, which at best result in reduced ROI but at worst can produce biased algorithms.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Software Bureau .