Shoppers will share personal data in return for rewards

Shoppers are less cautious about sharing personal data, but it comes at a price for retailers: they expect rewards in return.

A new global study by market intelligence company Gfk has revealed 27 percent of internet users across 17 countries strongly agree that they are willing to share their personal data in exchange for benefits or rewards like lower costs or personalized service. This contrasts to 19 percent who are firmly unwilling to share their data.

20 - 30 year olds most likely to share data

The affirmative group has an age and geolocation demographic: People aged in their twenties and thirties are most likely to share their data, with a third saying they are firmly willing to do so (33 percent and 34 percent respectively). They are followed by those aged 15 to 19 years old, at 28 percent.

People in China are most ready to share their personal data in exchange for benefits, with 38 percent of the online population saying they are firmly willing to do so and only eight percent firmly unwilling. Other countries with higher than average levels of willingness are Mexico (30 percent), Russia (29 percent) and Italy (28 percent).

The five countries with the highest levels of people firmly against sharing their data are Germany (40 percent), France (37 percent), Brazil (34 percent), Canada (31 percent) and the Netherlands (30 percent).

These findings will allow brands and retailers to save time and resources by recognizing in advance which target audiences in each country are likely to respond to standard data-sharing offers, and which audiences will require bespoke offers that are aligned with their specific mindsets.

Source: Gfk Global Studies

Photo credit: Think Big Teradata Company