Consumers See Themselves As Data Pragmatists: DMA/Acxiom Study

Even with the GDPR, 44% of U.S. consumers feel more comfortable with data exchange than they did in the past, and that number jumps to over 54% for millennials, according to Data Privacy: What the Consumer Really Thinks, a study by the Data & Marketing Association (DMA) and Acxiom.

Moreover, they are more comfortable than consumers in other countries, including Spain and France.

Most Americans now see themselves as Data Pragmatists. In addition, almost a fifth of consumers — and around a quarter of millennials—are describe themselves as Data Unconcerneds.

Over a third of consumers would be willing to share their data for monetary rewards, whereas a fifth would welcome indirect incentives.

According to Acxiom and the DMA, almost 66% feel they are more aware than they were about how their data is used and collected. And 76% feel they should be able to trade their data for better offers and services.

On the negative side, 75% of consumers surveyed feel businesses benefit the most from data sharing, and only 11% feel that consumers do. Almost one in five millennials believe that consumers get the most benefit, and over two-thirds say businesses are favored by the status quo.

At the same time, 84% state that they would like more control over personal information. And 43% feels the responsibility is for data security lies within them, and 37% prefer a combination of consumers, brands and government institutions. Only a small percentage feel the government should be totally responsible.

Doctors are trusted completely by 24% and banks by 12%. Social networking sites are fully trusted by only 5%.

The study states that over four out of five respondents have a high level of concern about online privacy. Thus, “establishing trust will be crucial in fostering a healthy data economy.”

In addition, four out of five consumers surveyed value transparency about the collection and use of data, and prefer “easy-to-understand terms and conditions” that show a clear link between the data and the benefits.

The DMA and Acxiom surveyed 2,076 U.S. consumers. 

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