7 out of 10 consumers would give up personal details for a discount code
Online privacy has come into the spotlight in recent years like never before. As a result, tech corporations have to adjust to the changing digital marketing landscape as consumers want more and more personal data privacy online.
According to the recent findings by the Atlas VPN team, 73% of consumers would provide at least one personal detail to an app or a website in exchange for a $20 discount code. Furthermore, 52% of people believe there is no such thing as online privacy.
The data is based on Tinuiti's study A Marketer’s Guide to Consumer Sentiment Towards Online Privacy in 2022. The research explores responses from 1,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older on February 9, 2022, and reveals the attitudes that shape online behavior and preferences surrounding online privacy.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of consumers would willingly share their email address to an app or website to get a $20 coupon code. If the email address does not contain your personal information, providing it to a website might not corrupt your privacy. In addition, some people might use throwaway emails to sign up for such websites to secure their data.
About one in three (31%) customers would voluntarily submit their full name to get a discount code. If the website were to be hacked, people who entered their names would leak their sensitive information to cybercriminals. Later on, hackers could use a person’s private information to create personalized phishing emails to trick them into providing more data.
Almost one out of four (23%) consumers would exchange their phone number for a $20 coupon code. Cybercriminals could target the person’s leaked phone number with smishing attacks and scam calls. Besides, they could also reroute multi-factor authentication codes to themselves just by knowing the person’s number and other personal details.
Only 16% of customers would give up their home address for a discount code on a website. On the other hand, 27% would not provide any of their personal details for the $20 coupon.
Online privacy does not exist
Consumers want tech businesses to lead in social solutions for privacy protection. Commercial data abuse is not a top concern compared to criminal behavior like data theft. However, consumers believe the government should go beyond crime prevention to regulate digital advertising.
One out of five (20%) consumers believes that they have control of their digital data. At the same time, 29% of people like it when the digital ads they see are relevant to them. However, more than half, 52%, of customers think there is no such thing as online privacy.
Many people believe that other institutions should do more to protect their online privacy. For example, 43% of consumers feel that government should step up to ensure more digital privacy, while 55% wish private companies would do more for their anonymity.
Interestingly enough, 38% of customers think their mobile phone listens to their conversations and suggests buying products based on what it hears. Such concern is reasonable as many people online have noticed a similar trend. Virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant can track your conversations for marketing purposes with your consent.
Nearly one in four (24%) people believe that they are the product when they get something online for free. Lastly, 6% of consumers did not relate to any of the sentiments on online privacy discussed above.
While online privacy depends a lot on big tech companies’ approach to it, people can take action to control privacy in their own hands. Using a VPN and ad blockers can help reduce your digital footprint significantly. Being mindful of where you give out your personal information and its handling is essential when protecting your online privacy.
