• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 2, 2003

RR Donnelley Survey Identifies Consumers Who Are Privacy Seekers

In a recent release, approximately 70 percent of 10,000 consumers surveyed through FinSightsm, the RR Donnelley financial services consumer panel, "think companies have too much personal information." A slightly higher percentage, 76.4 percent, "feel that their privacy has been compromised if a company uses their personal information to sell them products." Yet, consumers are more willing to give a company personal information if they get something, like a personalized product or service offer, in return. Panel respondents are evenly split when asked whether they "appreciate it when companies recommend new products and services based about what they know about me." The panel identified key characteristics of consumers who are privacy seekers:

• 65.2 percent of consumers early in their financial life, ages 18-24, were far less likely to be concerned about privacy .
• 84.4 percent of consumers over 65, were far more likely to be concerned about privacy.
• 71.1 percent of women appear slightly more concerned about privacy than men (68.8 percent).
• 70.2 percent of Caucasians appear more concerned about privacy than any other ethnic group including African-Americans (66.3 percent), Hispanics (68.7 percent) and Asians (69.1 percent).

Consumers react more favorably to giving their personal information to enable companies to recommend new products and services, indicating that although consumers crave privacy they also welcome relevant communications. The same demographic trends are reinforced with the youngest consumers, with over 25 percent more likely to provide their personal information, men more likely than women, and ethnic groups more likely than Caucasians to divulge their details.

"Consumers are extremely sensitive about their privacy-particularly in the financial services sector," says Richard Hren, director of consumer data analytics for RR Donnelley. "However, consumers also recognize that a better and more relevant customer experience is available to them through the presentation of more personalized products and services that result from (some form of data sharing) seems to be a fair trade-off to many people."

Find out more here.