GDPR: Fifth of customers refuse to share personal data in 2018

New research reveals that nearly a third of consumers are reluctant to share more than their name and email address with brands.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to come into force in May 2018, and will affect companies that have customers in EU countries (even if the organisation isn’t based there). There will be stricter rules on data collection and how personal information is processed, stored and used – with severe penalties for those breaching the new rules.

SEE ALSO: GDPR – What you need to know to safeguard your customer data

If that doesn’t make it difficult enough already for organisations to collect data to help them improve the customer experience they’re providing, new research has found that a fifth of consumers will refuse to share any personal data at all with brands by this time next year.

56 per cent of customers value trust and transparency most highly in a relationship with brands.

Still more (32%) are currently reluctant to share more than their name and email address according to the research, making meaningful relationships virtually impossible.

When CRM agency Amaze One published its Fair Trade? report in 2016, one in 10 people said they actively share no information requested by brands; according to the 2017 research, the figure has risen to 14 per cent. If this trend is repeated over the next 12 months, around a fifth of consumers will refuse to part with their personal details.

These findings follow a survey of more than 2,500 UK-based adults about their data sharing concerns and habits, with research revealing that brands face an unprecedented dearth of customer data.

So what can you do to battle this trend? Some 56 per cent of customers value trust and transparency most highly in a relationship with brands, with this figure rising to 86 per cent among people aged over 35.

However, at the moment the research found that less than half of respondents are aware of how their personal data is collected and used. And their concern about how their data is used has increased significantly from 16 per cent to 22 per cent, with 44 per cent feeling more concerned about their data privacy than in last year’s survey.

A fifth of consumers will refuse to share any personal data with brands by this time next year.

With 70 per cent of customers being in favour of offers tailored using data from past purchases, it’s clear that a more open communication will be beneficial to create more trust and less friction when it comes to data collection for personalisation and improving CX.

Julie Neilson, Principle Planner at Amaze One, concludes: “A combination of the future effects of GDPR on data volumes, and the mistakes of the past which have led to people being ill-at-ease sharing their information, could have a damaging and long-lasting effect on CRM-based organisations.

“By understanding how customers view their relationship, however, they can start to forge meaningful relationships with them. In other words, brands can recapture the true, mutually beneficial spirit of CRM.”