• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, February 1, 2024

Message to brands: Consumers don’t necessarily trust you — especially when it comes to privacy. 

Boomers are the most suspicious in this regard, and Gen Z the least so, judging by Zero-party Data Revolution: How To Grow Marketing Effectiveness, a study by Attest.  

Yet Gen Z are the most likely to refuse email marketing, with many saying they are likely to opt-out.
The unsubscribe numbers are: 

• 18-24 — 48.6% 
• 25-34 — 39.5%
• 35-44 — 33.7% 
• 45-54 — 39% 
• 55-64 — 42.5%

The study is focused on the U.K., but also may reflect a preference in the U.S. about zero-party data. Of course, there are more stringent privacy regulations in the U.K. 

According to the study, Gen Z prefers content on social media – around 6 in 10 engage with brands on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. But they are also the most likely to habitually opt out of first-party cookies: 

• 18-24 — 43.1% 
• 25-34 — 33.7% 
• 35-44 — 34.6% 
• 45-54 — 33.6% 
• 55-64 — 30% 

The study reports that 76% of consumers opt-out of being added to a company’s mailing list at least some of the time.
Another 41% do it most of the time or always, with men more likely to opt out than women by a margin of 46.2% to 35.5%. 

The age groups weigh in as follows in their concern about privacy: 

• 18-24 — 59.3% 
• 25-34 — 63.9% 
• 35-44 — 64.7%
• 45-54 — 65.9%
• 55-64 — 74.1%

The propensity to opt out of first-party cookies often depends on subject matter: 

• Financial services websites — 22.6% 
• Travel websites — 21% 
• Retail websites — 18.7% 
• Food and beverage websites — 17.9%

But it also depends on the process. Consumers prefer these data collection methods:

• Interactive surveys — 47.8% 
• Loyalty card — 47.6% 
• Online forms — 36.8%
• Cookies — 28.2% 
• Direct chats — 18.8% 
• Social media monitoring — 15.2% 
• No preference — 11.8%

Trust is enhanced when brands use zero-party data — data directly shared by the consumer. The respondents say they are: 

• More likely to trust a brand with data — 50%
• More likely to feel at ease using a brand’s website — 59.8%
• More likely to feel at ease interacting on a brand’s social media — 56.4
• More likely to sign up to a mailing list — 46.4% 

Attest surveyed 1,885 consumers during November and December 2023.