Consumers sceptical over online data privacy, says Accenture

The vast majority (80%) of consumers aged 20-40 in the US and the UK believe total privacy in the digital world is a thing of the past, a new study by management consultancy Accenture shows.

Indeed, the majority of respondents – 87% - believe adequate safeguards are not in place to protect their personal information and 64% are concerned about websites tracking their buying behaviour.

More than half (56%) say they are trying to safeguard their privacy by inputting their credit card information each time they make an online purchase rather than having that data stored for future use. And 70% believe businesses aren't transparent about how their information is being used, while 68% say there is not enough transparency around what is being done with their information.

“Since 51% of those surveyed said they would prefer for companies to stop tracking their shopping behaviour, companies must find ways to establish more trust with customers and an effective formula for reaching them without crossing a data privacy line. For consumers there's a direct correlation between privacy tolerance and value,” commented Glen Hartman, global managing director of Digital Transformation for Accenture Interactive.