Consumers care about product quality, customer service and company ethics. But they care about security issues more than most marketers probably realize, according to new research from the CMO
Council. A study found that although security issues ranked fourth behind other concerns, consumers are more concerned about security than ever. "Not only are consumers' concerns rising about
identity theft and computer security, but they're starting to do something about it," says Scott Van Camp, editorial director at the council, which represents some 2,200 CMOs worldwide. The study,
"Securing the Trust in Your Brand," found that 43 percent of American consumers have stopped a transaction in progress because of misgivings over security, usually when retailers ask for information
they don't wish to divulge. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said that after a security breach they would "strongly consider" or "definitely" take their business elsewhere. The research was conducted
in April and May and surveyed 1,037 U.S. and 1,203 European consumers. Overall, 60 percnet of domestic consumers said they were "a little" (25 percent), "more" (23 percent) or "very" (12 percent)
concerned about security. The study found that U.S. consumers were more worried about identity theft and fraud than terrorism and personal safety. European consumers ranked family safety higher.
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