A new report shows consumers are very much aware of data privacy issues and judge brands based on them. Ketch and Magna conducted a survey among 2,750 consumers across the US, 76 percent of which described themselves as the primary decision-makers for household purchases. 

According to the findings, 74 percent highly value data privacy and 83 percent say they understand the value in sharing data with brands under the right conditions, such as when they want to learn about new products.

Still, brands haven’t quite fully earned consumers’ trust. An overwhelming majority (82 percent) of consumers are highly concerned about how their data is collected and used, the report found, which is fueled by a lack of transparency and control. In addition, 57 percent worry that brands use their data beyond their intended purposes.

Brands have a lot to gain by remaining transparent with their data privacy practices. The survey shows that 49 percent of consumers would not only trust the company more but would also prefer it over others (43 perfect) if the brand was transparent and gave them control over their data usage.

Part of earning trust requires that brands allow consumers to decide how much and what kind of personal information to share with the brand. The report echoes this sentiment; most said that instead of cookie notices, they want personalized preference centers with clear and easy-to-understand privacy options they can manually set.

Data storage practices and data minimization have the greatest impact for consumers and trust translates to 23 percent higher purchase intent. To build trust, the data retention period matters the most for retail, travel and finance while data minimization matters the most for telephone companies. 

Key takeaways for marketers:

  • Control data across its lifecycle
  • Clearly communicate with people about how their data will be used
  • Allow people to change their privacy at any time
  • When people make a choice, ensure it’s reflected in all the data systems that store it and use their data as well as with downstream partners that receive it
  • Ensure legal, technology, marketing and data teams all have a say