Consumers “Willing” to Offer Personal Data for Special Offers

New research suggests some consumers could be more willing to offer up their personal data to companies if presented with more incentives, such as special offers and promotions.

This comes in response to a survey around the forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) being introduced in May 2018, where individuals will have the right to request and access their personal information held by companies they work for.

This “trade off” is often used by marketers, however ahead of the GDPR law, UNICOM Global’s enterprise information cross-platform Macro 4 in partnership with online survey company Maru/Usurv, polled over 1,000 consumers and found 31% want companies to provide more special offers and discounts in exchange for their personal information.

Requesting data

Personal information can include contact details, credit card numbers, emails, letters and bills. Research also found 52% of consumers would be likely to request access to their personal information being held, and 26% would submit a request if there was an opportunity of compensation.

The willingness to pass on personal data for special offers could ease the pressure of marketers who are preparing for the GDPR law and where almost a majority of consumers (62%) are asking for stricter rules to online tracking and data being shared between companies.

Lynda Kershaw, marketing manager at Macro 4, said that personal information held by companies is “unstructured” and in “separate systems” which can often make it difficult for them to distribute to consumers.

Compensation

In addition to companies holding personal information, the GDPR could lead to consumer compensation litigation if they fail to comply with the rules.

Pat Moran, cyber leader at professional services network PwC was adamant that consumer compensation litigation will soon follow once the GDPR takes full effect next May.

“We are already seeing niche legal firms being established to cater for the anticipated demand, which could see another personal protection insurance debacle emerging,” he said.