86% of consumers want more control over how companies collect and use their personal data.
UK- November 10th 2022- GetApp UK launched its latest research study examining consumers’ perspectives on businesses’ privacy practices and their use of first-party data.
GetApp’s newest research studies reveal consumers’ concerns regarding businesses’ collection of their first-party data, as more than two-thirds (68%) believe it’s not possible to go through a normal day without companies collecting information about them. Due to this, 38% of respondents feel more concerned than they did last year about the privacy practices of companies online.
62% of consumers stated they feel nervous about sharing their personal information with companies. Whilst 30% often feel forced into providing their data in order to visit a website’s page. As a consequence of this, 59% believe that online ads know too much about them.
Overall 86% of consumers would like more control over how businesses collect and use their personal information. As 88% stated that they would stop doing business with companies that they felt didn’t respect the privacy and sensitivity of their personal data.
71% of consumers ranked financial information as the most sensitive type of data companies could accrue, followed by contact information (52%) and health information (47%). Gender identification data was voted the least sensitive, with only 17% deeming it ‘very sensitive.’
83% of consumers would be more willing to a certain degree to share their data online if they knew what data would be collected and the purpose behind its collection. They would be most inclined to share their name, occupation and email address with an online company when receiving vouchers (62%), followed by registering for a new account (56%), and signing up to be on a mailing list/newsletter (46%). They would be least likely to share their data to download a report/whitepaper (10%).
Whilst many respondents expressed their concerns regarding the collection of their personal data, many still don’t take the necessary precautions to prevent their personal information from being gathered. As 64% still don’t integrate VPN software to enhance their online privacy. 40% rarely/never use incognito mode, with 14% claiming not to know what incognito is. Lastly, 56% of respondents always accept being tracked by cookies. Only 15% always decline all cookies.
David Jani, Content Analyst at GetApp UK, comments:
“Data is essential to the operations of an online business, but responsibility in its use and collection is crucial. This was underscored by our finding that 88% of consumers would stop business with companies perceived to be falling short with data protection and privacy.
However, it was interesting to note that despite more than half of our sample said they felt online ads knew too much about them, the majority of users didn’t commonly put tools such as VPNs, or incognito mode to use. In fact, 56% said they accept cookies no matter the circumstances.
These findings suggest the public is willing to engage with companies and their data collection methods at face value. Yet, undermining that trust or creating an impression of lax data privacy could prove disastrous in terms of reputation and customer retention.”
About GetApp
GetApp is the recommendation engine small businesses need to make the right software choice. GetApp enables SMEs to achieve their mission by delivering the tailored, data-driven recommendations and insights needed to make informed software purchasing decisions. For more information, visit www.getapp.co.uk.
Study Methodology
Data for the First-Party Data Survey was collected in September 2022, in which 1,019 consumers responded to GetApp’s survey.
Media Contact
Carmina Solano Davis
Marketing Specialist (UK)
Responses