Consumers Trade Privacy for Personalization?

The results from the 2006 ChoiceStream Personalization Survey are in, and you may be surprised with the results. According to respondents, 57% of consumers said they were willing to give up some privacy in return for a personalized online experience.

by Kristina Knight

Consumers said they would provide demographic information (57%) and would allow websites to track their clicks (34%) if given the opportunity for a more targeted web experience. Both of those percentages are increases from the 2005 survey. The most surprising result? Only about 62% of consumers said they were worried about their privacy online. That is a decline from 2005.

About 30% of respondents say they belong to a social network, and a full 75% said personalizing their social networks so that they could meet people with similar interests would greatly improve their online experience.

This personalization trend isn't only effecting how users see the Internet. The growing demand of personalized services is also moving in to the television and mobile markets. Some interesting results include a 45% dissatisfaction rate with the current onscreen TV program guide, and 50% of users would download to mobile devices if they were presented with personalized choices.

Among those tested, it is mostly 18-24 year olds, who are most interested in personalizing the web experience (62%), followed by the 50+ age group, who also wants personalization (37%).

Tags: 18-24 age group, 50+, behavioral targeting, personalising ads, targeted marketing

Comments (0)

Email to a friend

Print this article

Subscribe to BizReport