New research by SAS shows that consumers are worried about continuing data breaches.
The research, which encompassed 15 countries, showed that concern with the breaches in Australia and New Zealand stood at 66 per cent: 95 per cent of New Zealanders and 93 per cent of Australians are internet users.
“Whichever the country, marketing and customer engagement is now all about personalisation,” SAS Australia and New Zealand Head of Marketing Iggy Pintado said. “Consumers increasingly expect to be told about things that appeal to them individually and they willingly cooperate by disclosing their personal information. However, they are clearly concerned that their information may not be held securely and they worry that details about them are gathered without consent.”
The research found that Australian and New Zealander consumers were reluctant to give their age, a mailing address or phone number, but willing to provide vendors with their names and email addresses. Twenty-five per cent said that they felt they had no control of the information they shared with organisations at all.
“This research proves that businesses must work harder to be seen as digitally trustworthy in the eyes of customers,” Mr Pintado said. “Senior executives across the organisation must balance the benefits of personalised marketing with the rigours of data security. Policies must clearly spell out how and what data is collected and shared, and there must be processes to ensure compliance. After all, a confident consumer is more likely to be a better customer.”
