Having turned to digital shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are now slightly more trusting in terms of how brands are using their data, according to Consumer Experience Sentiment
Report, a study from Merkle.
For instance, only 23% now oppose sharing personal information regardless of benefit -- a drop of 5% from 2020.
Despite that, 51% now feel
brands know either slightly or far too much about them, versus 48% in 2020.
Overall, though, consumers seem more positive about data use for marketing and
advertising. They report:
- It helps me discover more things that interest me — 50% (up from 47% in 2020).
- It makes it easier to find the
products/services that interest me most — 49% (up from 47% in 2020).
- It makes navigating the internet easier — 34% (up from 30% in 2020).
- It often feels invasive — 44% (down from 44% in 2020).
- I don’t like sharing my personal information no matter the benefit — 29% (down from 30%
in 2020).
- It’s something that I don’t really care about — 20%, flat YoY
In addition, consumers are now more comfortable with
providing data if it leads to more personalized experiences:
- Browsing history — 38%
- Listening or watching habits on a streaming platform —
46%
- Names of my friends — 21%
- Satisfaction metrics/ratings — 60%
- Purchase history — 44%
- My
location — 33%
- My photos — 18%
All of these numbers are up by fair-sized margins over 2020.
How are consumers feeling about
things? They report the following:
- I am optimistic about how my circumstances will change in 2021 — 63%
- I have been negatively impacted by COVID-19
— 51%
- My personal values have changed in the past year due to COVID-19 — 38%
- I have experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19 —
37%
- I was more impacted by COVID-19 than the average person in 2020 — 22%
On the positive side (for brands), 48% have increased
spending on online shopping, while 45% have increased spending on food/cooking and 33% have upped spending on streaming services/subscriptions.
In another finding,
Merkle reports that 88% of shoppers view a brand's products more favorably if they feel the firm is listening to their needs. And 91% are more likely to make a repeat purchase if they feel the brand
is listening.
Merkle surveyed more than 1,300 consumers in March 2021.