Consumers are beginning to tire of their personal data being collected, according to a new study. Ovum’s Consumer Insights Survey has disclosed how 68% of the internet population across 11 countries would select a ‘do not track’ feature if it was available.
There is a real worry that companies, which rely on data for business, could be left in the digital Stone Age. Ovum predicts that if data availability diminished it could impact CRM, big data analytics, and other digital industries.
Mark Little, principal analyst at Ovum, feels that companies are taking the supply of personal data for granted. Little is under no illusion that the advent of ‘do not track’ and other similar utilities is like an accident waiting to happen.
“Consumers are being empowered with new tools and services to monitor, control, and secure their personal data as never before, and it seems they increasingly have the motivation to use them,” he said.
A dishonest reputation
Ovum discovered that only 14% of respondents believe internet companies are honest about their use of consumers’ personal data. The statistic implies that online firms still have some way to go to win over consumers’ hearts and minds.
Little advises that companies should invest in better ways to understand the modern consumer. If they don’t, there’s a grave risk that digital marketing businesses could find themselves extinct.
“Most importantly, data controllers need a better feel for the approaching disruption to their supply lines, and must invest in tools that help them understand the profile of today’s negatively-minded users – tomorrow’s invisible consumers,”