"What's in it for me?": Three quarters of UK shoppers say they get nothing in return for sharing their personal data with brands

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: "What's in it for me?": Three quarters of UK shoppers say they get nothing in return for sharing their personal data with brands.

Loyalty marketing agency ICLP today reveals that 71% of British shoppers do not feel that it's worth sharing their personal data with brands, and 48% don't believe that their personal information will be treated with respect.

In particular, UK consumers said they were not adequately rewarded for volunteering their personal information, and did not feel brands did enough to deliver personalised experiences once they had collected their data.

Ahead of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) coming into effect one year from now, which will require all data used by brands to have been collected using active, affirmative consent, many brands face the challenge of re-signing up thousands of customers. Failing to do so will make it even harder for brands to deliver true personalisation to their customers – a challenge which 40% already struggle with marketing and loyalty, at a time when 40% of brands are struggling to deliver true personalisation to their customers^[1].

This challenge is highlighted further by ICLP's research which shows only 28% of Brits say retailers remember what they've purchased in the past, and just 30% are given personalised product recommendations. Meanwhile, just one in three (31%) UK consumers find brands remember their shopping, payment and delivery preferences and 81% of Brits said that brands don't remember their birthday, meaning that either this data is not being captured, or not being used properly.

Brands, however, are faced with the problem that shoppers don't see the value of sharing their personal data in the first place. Almost three quarters (71%) say they do not feel they are adequately rewarded for sharing their personal information, and have little incentive to give their consent ahead of new GDPR laws coming into effect.

Jason De Winne, General Manager at ICLP, commented: "The fact that Brits are increasingly wary of sharing their personal information with brands presents a significant problem for retailers at a time when they need shoppers to engage to ensure that they comply with new regulations. As the deadline for GDPR compliance looms ever closer, brands need to acknowledge that they are often not providing the compelling value exchange that their customers demand.

"If shoppers don't see any value in sharing their data, they will simply opt to remain a guest customer. This will leave brands unable to deliver the exciting and personalised shopping experiences that customers want. It has never been more important for brands to show that customers will be rewarded appropriately for sharing their personal data, and data will be used in a responsible way that ultimately benefits the consumer."

Methodology
*Deeply Devoted Research undertaken by Survey Sampling International across 1,004 UK consumers, on behalf of ICLP, July 2016. Random error on a sample of this size is +/- 2.2% at the 95% confidence level.

^[1] https://www.forrester.com/40+Of+Loyalty+Marketers+Struggle+With+Personalization/-/E-PRE9108