According to a study released by KPMG International, consumers are more anxious, and although they are embracing new technology, they are more aware of the risks and benefits of handing over their data to businesses. The study includes a survey of 25,000 consumers in the UK, US, UAE, France, Brazil, Canada, China and India.
The study, published by KPMG’s Global Consumer Insights program as part of the 2018 Me, my life, my wallet report, shows that almost half (47 percent) of consumers feel more anxious than last year and the same number feel more anxious than five years ago. Despite increasing anxiety and recent data scandals, three-quarters (75 percent) of consumers are still willing to provide businesses with their data.
The survey shows that a quarter of consumers (24 percent) would not trade their data; however, millennial consumers are more likely (21 percent) than their baby boomer counterparts (5 percent) to trade their data for better customer experience and personalization. Likewise a fifth (19 percent) of millennial consumers would trade their data for better products and services, versus just 8 percent of baby boomers. The study shows that younger consumers are just as anxious and concerned about identify fraud, however they are more likely to see the benefits of sharing data.
While the majority of consumers are willing to provide businesses with data, half (51 percent) of consumers are anxious about identity theft, and the majority (72 percent) don’t trust anyone with their social media data. In fact, additional research* highlights that 42 percent of consumers have updated their social media privacy settings in the last 12 months.
