Brits’ reluctance to hand over data hits festive activity

online-xmasBrand owners’ efforts to get up close and personal with their customers this festive season are being hampered by consumers’ reluctance to hand over accurate data, which in turn is making many marketing campaigns miss the mark.

So says a new study by Treasure Data, which reveals one in four (25%) Brits admit they give false data about themselves, with almost half (47%) saying they deliberately withhold their personal data from companies they buy from.

Meanwhile, over a third of Brits (34%) do not use their primary email address when signing up to brand communications, with nearly half (45%) of 18- to 34-year-olds choosing to give a secondary email address and 25% of 55s and over.

Treasure Data director of marketing Andrew Stephenson said: “This Black Friday, marketers have an elaborate concoction of obstacles to mount as consumers add the issue of data collection and accuracy into the mix alongside the cost-of-living crisis and looming recession.

“It’s imperative that brands demonstrate the importance of data sharing – and the value Brits will receive in return for doing so – through personalised, helpful content. If not, brands risk being a damp squib at a time when success is most critical.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that they are handing over false data, many comms appear impersonal, irking Brits even more.

One in five (19%) consumers report that they would unsubscribe from a brand’s mailing list within a week if content was not relevant, and a further 43% say less than 10% of the content they receive from brands makes them click through.

In addition, Brits are scathing about the plethora of content they currently receive. While over half (51%) receive between one and ten brand communications each day, almost three quarters (72%) think less than half of it is relevant or appropriate for them.

Stephenson added: “What’s also clear from our research is that there’s an uphill battle for marketers in ensuring the consumer data they do have isn’t jeopardised by content that simply isn’t fit-for-purpose.

“There are several ways that brands can tackle this – from exploring the tools on the market that take customer data and create actionable insights, to upskilling and empowering marketing teams to understand what to do with what they have.

“As we ride the upcoming recession, data management is going to be one of the key battlegrounds for brands where consumer loyalty and advocacy is won or lost.”

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