Identity theft worries are high for American consumers

More than 90% of study respondents said they fear their identity being stolen and used to make online purchases. Consumers are also wary of where their information - address and credit card numbers - goes after they have filled out the online purchase forms. Even more surprising, 34% said they are not confident in credit card companies or online retailers ability to keep personal information private.

With so many consumers potentially swearing off of online shopping, what can e-tailers and marketers do to make their companies more appealing?

Offering secure servers and making a privacy policy readily available for users are two options that many marketers are already using, however, these options don't seem to change the way consumers feels. Email authentication could also help boost more user participation.

The key, however, is most likely the trust relationship that marketers build from the moment a user signs on. For shopping hubs, being diligent about keeping private information private and not sharing or selling user lists will likely help. For email marketers, keeping updated email lists, culling out non-responding members and only contacting users according to their targeting information are three ways to keep users happy.

Tags: marketing trends, online revenue, online shopping