Today, retailers face a conundrum. With the rapid proliferation of mobile, social media and in-store sensors, they are now sitting on a treasure trove of data. Walmart, for example, has about 30 petabytes of shopping information—the equivalent of nearly seven million DVDs. Retailers have all the data they need to create personalised promotions and offers. And consumers are very much in favor of personalization; survey after survey shows consumers increasingly expect personalized offers presented at the right moment.
- Consumers worldwide are strongly dubious of retailers’ privacy initiatives: 93% of all consumer sentiment on this subject was negative.
- Security and invasion of privacy are key data issues: The report finds that the main factors contributing to negative sentiment are data security (76%) and intrusive behavior by the retailer (51%). Consumer skepticism grew when trigger incidents occurred, including updates of privacy policies during mergers and acquisitions, or regulatory inquiries into a retailer’s violation of data security policies.
- Striking the balance between privacy and personalization eludes most: Only 14% of retailers are perceived positively by consumers on both personalization and privacy initiatives.