• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, October 9, 2019

Retailers may be walking into a privacy debacle as new laws are enacted and consumers and hackers both get wise to how companies operate, judging by the Deloitte Consumer Privacy in Retail Survey.

Of consumers surveyed by Deloitte, 33% have had their data compromised. And 47% feel they have little or no control over their personal data. Yet 71% will share data in return for better pricing, special discounts or exclusive offers.

Retailers aren’t ready either way. Only 22% have “optimally” integrated a data privacy program into their corporate and business strategies.

Worse, 62% have more than 50 information systems -- including email, point of sale, spreadsheet and custom relationship management. 

This makes them more vulnerable to data breaches. And it’s a disaster from a marketing standpoint.

Is your email team able to easily get data from your CRM?That failure to integrate systems is at the core of data failures of all types.  

All this is happening as new state laws in the U.S. cover 54% of the population, the study notes. One such law is the California Consumer Privacy Act, which takes effect on January 1, 2020.

On the positive side, 75% of retailers are aware that these regulations will have a moderate to significant impact on their business.

Deloitte, which surveyed 201 retail executives, categorizes companies into three privacy types: Leaders, Laggards and Adopters.

Only 32% qualify as leaders — trust-focused, consumer-centric organizations.

What does it take to be a leader? “Future leaders in data privacy should adopt guiding principles that align across the entire organization as an essential part of their strategy, culture and operations,” states Rob Goldberg, cyber risk leader, retail, wholesale and distribution, Deloitte & Touche LLP. 

Laggards, which do not consider privacy a priority, make up 27%. The remaining 41% are Adopters, working to focus on privacy even if they are not fully there yet.

Deloitte also surveyed 2,000 consumers for its U.S. Consumer Data Privacy. Of those, 86% think they should be able to opt out of sale of their data.

Consumers may not fully understand how data is used. But they know more than you might think. For instance, over 66% believe data is mostly used for targeted marketing (including email). And 55% believe retailers share data with — or sell it to — third parties.

And retailers should know that 73% of consumers who are satisfied with a brand’s privacy policy are more likely to be open or neutral about sharing data. In contrast, 57% of unsatisfied people feel the same way.