Survey: UK consumers don't mind being watched

"Unquestionably the recession has prompted consumers to shop online to find the best deals and save money. What is refreshing, however, is how much more sophisticated they are with their online usage - they understand the benefits of having their behaviour tracked and profiled and welcome customer loyalty schemes that reward their personal shopping habits with discounts individually tailored. Consumers no longer see personalization as a threat to their personal privacy, but as a way of deriving convenience and saving time, as well as money," said Tim Norman, Sales Director of Northern Europe.

Researchers further found that about one-third of UK consumers are shopping online more than they did before the recession, and most value customer loyalty programs more than other features. In fact, about half of consumers say they'll shop with an etailer who has a loyalty program before they will shop for a non-loyalty program etailer.

So, how do consumers want their shopping histories used by marketers? More than 45% wish their information to be used to send more personal messages - to highlight products or services they are interested in or to suggest products or services which could be a help to them.

Perhaps most importantly, however, is that consumer won't stand for unsolicited information - even from companies they've shopped in the past. More than 80% reported that, if sent unsolicited or unwanted emails are ads, they would be unlikely to shop with that business.

So, although mining information may be lucrative for some businesses the information collected should be used only with opt-in lists so as not to annoy consumers.

Tags: behavioral targeting, ecommerce, etailing, loyalty programs, online shopping, personalized messaged, SDL Tridion