• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, June 14, 2022

Consumers are largely turned off by overly frequent emails and irrelevant content. But those concerns vary by age and location, according to The Audience of One 2022: Getting Personalization Right, a study released Tuesday by Movable Ink. 

For instance, 23% of 18-24 year-olds will unsubscribe after getting content that is not pertinent to them, versus 47% of those 65+.  But those in the younger category are more likely to opt out because they do not like the content — 25% versus 16% of the over-65 cohort. 

Of consumers polled in the U.S., Canada and UK/Ireland, 42% are irritated by too-frequent messaging and 35% by irrelevant content. And 22% dislike content that is too focused on selling, and 21% by material that doesn’t appear correctly on mobile or web.  

Willingness to share personal data also varies by age: 

• 18-24 — 62% 
• 24-34 — 65% 
• 35-44 — 60% 
• 45-54 — 58% 
• 55-64 — 48%
• 65+ — 45% 

In general, shoppers are also worried about privacy, in particular:

• Their data being sold to other parties — 46% 
• Their data being stolen — 45%
• A lack of privacy — 26%

In fact, 40% would cancel services or not buying from the company again in response to a misuse of personal information, and 29% would unsubscribe from emails. 

U.S. consumers are most likely to not purchase again. And 20% globally say transparency is a prime consideration. 

Despite all that, 61% worldwide are likely to buy goods or service in response to a personalized experience. That figure hits 63% in the U.S.

And, email is the most preferred communication channel globally:

• Email recommendations — 54%
• In-app recommendations — 48% 
• Social media ad recommendations — 38%
• Banner/website ad recommendations — 35% 
• SMS recommendations — 30%

What kind of data will consumers share for a personalized experience?

• Gender — 78%
• Age — 69%
• Email address — 66%
• Marital status — 60% 
• Birthday — 59%
• Location — 44% 
• Number of children in household — 46% 
• Household income — 32%
• Cell phone number — 31%

Of those polled, 69% in the UK/Ireland will provide their email address, versus 63% in Canada. 

In addition, people are comfortable with giving the following types of information in exchange for personalized product or service recommendations:

• Satisfaction with past orders, products or services — 68%
• Ideal price range — 67% 
• Product categories of interest — 65% 
• Size — 63%
• Fit/body type — 55% 
• Interest/hobbies — 57% 
• Order and search history — 49% 
• Profession — 45% 
• Information about daily habits (i.e., eating, exercising, etc.) — 41% 

TEAM LEWIS Research surveyed 3,000 consumers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland from April 10, 2022 to April 20, 2022 on behalf of Movable Ink.