Consumers embrace idea of swapping personal info for cheaper goods

Wednesday, April 19, 2017 - 10:22 by Mike Price

A new study from Hughes Europe has found that 74 per cent of shoppers would be willing to hand over information about themselves and their personal preferences in exchange for money off at the checkout, according to Internet Retailing.

Eighty five per cent said that they would be happy to indicate the types of items and brands they favour, while just over half said that they would specify the retailers they prefer to use when visiting the high street or carrying out safe shopping online.

However, there are some areas in which consumers are not as comfortable with this exchange, with 89 per cent saying that they were worried about being swamped by advertising messages after signing up to this type of service. Almost two thirds said that they felt their information might be at risk of theft if committed to a retailer.

Report spokesperson, Dan Thornton, pointed out that this was not just a trend limited to the web, but one which had spread to bricks and mortar stores, thanks to free Wi-Fi being offered by many firms. The under 35s tend to be most in favour of this type of offer, with Millennials seeking discounts in return for their info on a large scale.

There are limits to what people are comfortable sharing, with just one in 10 people happy to tell retailers about how much they spend each month or where they live.

Handing over an email address is less likely to put off shoppers, with 69 per cent signalling a willingness to sign up to a mailing list if they are then entitled to save money on their favourite site.

Modern shoppers are familiar with the idea of information being an important currency, valued by retailers and brands. But being sensible about what data is shared via safe shopping online is also essential.