Consumers Slow to Trust Businesses with Personal Data: Survey

Consumers and businesses differ over how to treat personal information, according to a new survey of both individuals and privacy and marketing executives. And the difference has caused consumers to cancel transactions as a result of mistrust.

Nearly three-quarters of the consumers surveyed indicated that online security fears compromised consumer trust, while two-thirds cited aggressive marketing techniques as a factor.

Broken out by industry, consumers were most likely to trust their employers, banks, and HMO/health insurance providers with their personal information. Online retailers and supermarkets were rated lowest, in terms of their trustworthiness.

There is also a split between what consumers feel builds trust and what businesses do: Among the business respondents, the greatest number (43%) said that good customer service was the strongest factor, while 62% of all consumers said it was either a company’s reputation or the length of service.

Furthermore, a majority of business respondents felt that their privacy policies were unlikely to influence consumer perception, just over half of the consumers surveyed said they avoided dealing with companies with privacy policies that made them feel uncomfortable.

So what does influence them? Sixty nine percent indicated that they would readily offer personal information in return for rewards such as cash or bonus points.

The online survey, which was fielded by management consulting firm Accenture, collected responses from 347 consumer and 223 privacy officers, marketing executives or customer relationship management executives during November 2003.