• by Tanya Gazdik , October 10, 2014

Consumers might not love having their data breached, but they may be getting used to it.

As each of the three biggest data breaches of all time were disclosed over the past 10 months, the consumer perception impact was significantly less with each successive announcement, according to YouGov BrandIndex, the only daily brand consumer perception research service.

YouGov BrandIndex measured Target, Home Depot, and JPMorgan Chase with its Buzz score, which asks respondents: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" Buzz score can range from 100 to -100, with a zero score equaling positive and negative feedback. All measurements are for adults 18 and over.

Target was hit the hardest when the news broke in late December 2013 that 40 million customers had been impacted: it dropped a steep 49 points from a Buzz score of 20 to -29 in only eight days. Ten months later, Target has returned close to pre-crisis levels with a current score of 15.

The Target data breach was in some ways a game-changing event for consumers, says YouGov BrandIndex CEO Ted Marzilli.

“It brought the issue of data security in a connected world front and center,” Marzilli tells Marketing Daily. “Consumers have concluded that companies, even if they are diligent, cannot guarantee security. So until one of these data breaches is accompanied by large-scale theft or some other shock to the system, the impact on brand image of a single event is likely to be modest.”

On Sept. 2, Home Depot broke the news of its own data breach that compromised 56 million credit card customers. Home Depot’s Buzz score is already nearly back to where they were on the day that news broke: its Buzz score dropped from 22 down to 6 ten days after the disclosure, drifted further down to 2 almost three weeks later, and is now back up to 17.

Just last week, Chase announced the biggest breach so far, affecting 76 million households and seven million small businesses. They tumbled from 6 down to -7 and early indications are that they may have bottomed out as scores have remained steady for two days.

Having to disclose a breach will never be pleasant and there is no rulebook for handling something so new. But having to disclose a repeat breach will be much worse, Marzilli says.

“It is important for a company to be honest and transparent with consumers about the extent of a breach when it happens, assure the public that it is investing to improve data security, and then update consumers periodically about how they are implementing those improvements,” Marzilli says. “What this research shows is that what was once an anomaly can become, unfortunately, routine news and hopefully doesn't lull the public into complacency. Another ‘shoe may drop’ that may hit home harder, and they will be the real test of how a brand can be resilient.”