Consumers willing to risk sharing personal data in exchange for perks

Despite Government statistics showing 90% of large firms suffered security breaches last year, most (61%) British shoppers are still happy sharing their personal data online.

Across Europe it’s a similar story as more than half (53%) of consumers are willing to share important personal data including their name, email address, mobile phone number and birth date when making a purchase.

Two thirds (66%) of Italians said they are happy to share their data, followed by France and Spain, where a similar proportion (55%) reported that they were comfortable with data sharing.

Germans are the least comfortable as only two fifths (41%) of respondents said they are happy sharing their personal data.

However, while some British shoppers are willing to share their data when making a purchase, others are only prepared to do so in exchange for offers or discounts.

In the UK, the top three most expected services in exchange for consumer data are: personalised offers based on search and/or purchase history (84%), followed by personalised pricing (81%) and personalised marketing emails (52%).

The findings come from a new report launched today, The European connected consumer: a life lived online, produced by Retail Week Connect in association with international legal practice Osborne Clarke.

Surveying 7,000 consumers across seven European countries, the research aims to identify consumer trends, behaviours and the associated legal challenges and, ultimately, how businesses can best serve their needs.