A Cisco survey reveals that nearly 60 percent of shoppers are happy to have stores and online retailers track their purchases. Does this mean that a helpful convenience outweighs privacy concerns?
There are always pros and cons that assert themselves loudly into the consumer equation when it comes to the flow of data versus privacy issues.
Enter the Cisco survey. In a Cisco Customer Experience Research/Retail Shopping Results survey, 58 percent of shoppers welcomed retailers to track their purchase history. It was actually promoted as a benefit by some retailers.
Therefore, to those consumers–and this is not a judgment at all, because I see both sides of this and welcome the benefits myself quite frequently…it is more important to reap those benefits than to maintain privacy.
What are those benefits?
Simple. From a consumer’s standpoint, there are many. Chiefly, that data serves as your memory. You need only remember where you bought something. Then, go to your account. Conduct a simple search in your purchase history. And…voila! You will soon find the history of that particular item’s purchase. Easy-peazy.
Further, retailers holding such information can advertise to you about those purchases again and again. This may be helpful. It may be annoying. That again, depends on the situation. Again…intent may be an issue there.
I take advantage of those benefits routinely myself. It’s helpful in many ways, actually. However, those benefits do come with thorns.
One such thorn? Hmm…How many times have you made an online purchase on…say, Amazon. Maybe a purchase with a longer life cycle…maybe a bike for your kid. You do your research. Make your purchase only to endure weeks of ‘bike’ emails…bike retargeting ads, bike suggestions, etc. long after you have made a single purchase, an acquisition that you’re not making multiples of…but again. Intent is the issue.
Now, I get it. That’s a minor fly-in-the-Metamucil compared to real issues…like Privacy concerns. It begs the question…is privacy even a concern anymore. For years, we heard rip-roaring concerns about Facebooks invasion of our privacy as consumers…Google’s invasion, etc. Insert any online platform here, in fact. However, according to this Cisco survey, with sixty percent of consumers saying ‘track me’…please! Maybe the concern is fading.
At the very least, it’s a concern that has been embraced…to a certain extent…by consumers. After all, in many similar situations, an initial pushback squares off against a brick wall and eventually consumers slowly adapt to the concern. Even adopt the concern…embracing it.
Did people stop using Facebook when privacy issues were exposed? Some may have. Most did not. Maybe it was not a huge concern to some. Maybe a social media addiction fueled the choice to stay instead of delete the account. Or, maybe such concerns were greeted with a ‘is it really changing my life?’-attitude, prompting rationalization to stay rather than go.
Regardless, trackability is here to stay. I expect that 60 percent figure to only grow in the future. So, if you’re keeping score at home, that’s Convenience-1 and Privacy-0 on this particular issue!
By Scott Trueblood, of BrandVision Marketing. BrandVision Marketing is a full-service marketing agency based in Knoxville, TN.
BrandVision Insights 