• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 5, 2021

In a finding that could impact email marketers, a staggering 70% of consumers dislike the idea of tracking people for marketing purposes.

Moreover, 75% believe consent should be obtained for tracking, according to “3 Out Of 4 People Want Companies To Use Consumer Consented Data,” a study from Invisibly, conducted by Realtime Research. 

Do people even know what they’re talking about? They say they do. In fact, 84% believe they understand cookies. That includes 59% of men and 36% of women. 

By age, 86% in the 41-54 cohort — Gen Z — don’t agree that firms should track them for marketing purposes, nor do 77% of those 55+. In contrast, only 56 % of those in the 25-40 millennial age group agree, along with 63% of consumers age 18-24 (Gen Z). 

Similarly, 87% of Gen Xers want to be asked for their permission to track, as do 78% of consumers under 18, 76% of millennials and 74% of the 55+ demographic.  

The demand for consent is fairly even among men (77%), women (76%) and Non-Binary consumers (71%).   

The research was conducted amidst a growing debate about the future of cookies. The cookieless future promised by Google has been postponed for two years. 

Meanwhile, websites are aggressively asking people to consent to cookies, often denying them access to content until they do so. And they are pushing their email newsletters without letup. 

Invisibly also found that 44% of consumers use ad-blockers to prevent personal data gathering, Invisibly found. Another 27% in general don’t use them, and 6% say they don’t because they like ads targeting them. And 23% don’t use blockers because they don’t know how they work.  

Males are most likely to use ad blockers (55%), followed by Non-Binary (41%) and women (36%). 

Millennials are most likely to use ad blockers (60%), versus the 55+ (48%), Gen Z (44%), Gen X (43%) and those under 18 (29%).  

Realtime Research surveyed 2,240 consumers from June 29 to July 1. Of those polled, 27.5% were uner 18, 22% from 18-24, 10.6% from 25-40 11.9% from 41.54 and 29% 55+.