Consumers put a price on their loyalty

Internet Retailing

20th Dec 2016

Consumers around the world are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their personal data and are putting a price tag on it, valuing their online data between $18 to $120.

That’s one of the findings of Aimia’s Loyalty Lens report. The study also reveals that 41 per cent of Australians regard their data as highly valuable, up from 31 per cent in 2014.

“Today’s consumers are digitally savvy,” Paul Smitton, Aimia’s managing director of Australia and New Zealand, said.

“They know that their data is valuable to brands and when they share it they expect an improved service or benefit in return. It’s encouraging to see brands recognising this and we need to continue to offer tangible benefits to customers for sharing their data.”

While 71 per cent of online shoppers today believe their preferred brands are good at using their data to make online shopping better, 77 per cent said they want to have more control over how brands use their data.

This can be as simple as telling consumers why information is being taken and how it will be used. For example, 69 per cent of people were wiling to share their mobile number with a company when it was explained why they wanted it, compared to 52 per cent when no context was provided.

The study also found that consumers today are more interested in using a digital wallet. Last year, fewer than one in nine smartphone owners globally said they were very likely to do so, while this year, there has been a universal increase in the number of consumers likely to use a digital wallet.

Australia ranked third globally on this metric, with 49 percent of respondents Down Under stating they’re likely to use a digital wallet if it contains cashless payment methods, loyalty cards and travel passes.

“With personalised and tailored benefits, brands can prove to consumers the data exchange is beneficial, sending information straight to the consumers’ device.” Smitton said.

On average, Australians gave the following price list for sharing their data:

• $50 for online behavior such as browsing history and online purchases
• $35 for lifestyle information such as hobbies and interests; income, household and occupation information
• $50 for contact information such as address, email and phone details
• $30 for personal information such as name and date of birth