90% of consumers back cookie law

Nine out of ten people believe the EU cookie law – due to be implemented in a fortnight – is a positive step for consumers, even though most were forced to admit they had never even heard of it until prompted.
The looming changes have been widely condemned by businesses, amid claims that they will cost the UK economy up to £10bn in lost sales, ad revenues and firms relocating overseas.
But, it seems, those companies which use the move to build trust – as recently recommended by the DMA – could gain most.
The latest eCustomerServiceIndex results from eDigitalResearch and IMRG found that 75% of the 2,000 online consumers surveyed had not heard of the new directive.
Of those who had, only 16% were fully aware of what changes would come into effect on May 26. Yet, when made aware of what the new directive entails, 89% felt that it was a positive step for consumers, while 79% agreed the changes were necessary as public knowledge about cookies was limited.
This is reinforced by the fact that a third of those surveyed believed cookies could be used for viruses and Trojans and as many as 8% claimed to never have heard of cookies. However, almost a quarter were happy for websites to use cookies to improve their browsing experience.
IMRG head of communications Andy Mulcahy said: “There has been a lot of concern in the industry that the new cookie requirements could prove disruptive to the user experience and lead to potential customers leaving a site through concern at what they are agreeing to by accepting cookies.
While many consumers seem to find the whole concept of cookies and what they are used for confusing, the fact that such a high percentage regard the new regulation as a positive step suggests that there is actually a real opportunity for retailers to increase trust and loyalty through a clear, unobtrusive and customer-friendly cookie notification process.”

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