A new
survey of more than 3,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers by The Harris Poll for advertising platform company Permutive underscores consumers’ growing mistrust of how advertisers are using their
personal data.
Three-quarters of those surveyed expressed discomfort with buying from brands with poor data ethics, and 89% said they’d be more likely to spend money
with a brand that makes a commitment to protecting their personal data online over one that doesn't.
About three-quarters (74%) also said that they’re concerned about
brands being able to view and track their online behavior to target them with online advertising.
One-third (34%) said they believe that brands are responsible for
protecting their personal data online, whether they have actively or passively shared that data.
Only 27% said they feel that they have a thorough understanding of how
their personal data is used to target them.
More than half (51%) say they’d like to choose the types of personal data that are shared online with advertisers, and 42%
said that given the option, they would refuse to share any data online with advertisers.
“We’re faced with consumers opting out of advertising at
increasing rates, which will create a bigger shockwave than the demise of third-party cookies,” asserts Permutive CEO and Co-founder Joe Root. “It’s imperative that we rebuild data
in advertising to protect consumer privacy by empowering publishers, brands, and ad-tech partners to work together to use data responsibly.”
The survey was conducted
online by The Harris Poll between May 31 and June 1 among adults ages 18+ in the U.S. (n = 2,009) and the U.K. (n = 1,015). Samples were weighted to reflect the overall adult populations.