Women are significantly more cautious than men when it comes to sharing a variety of personal information on social media sites, according to a uSamp survey released in January 2012. Women are 33% more likely than men to say they are definitely not willing to share their physical address (78.8% vs. 59.1%), 39% more likely to definitely not share their location (52.4% vs. 37.7%), and 36% more likely to definitely not share their phone number (77.3% vs. 56.7%).

According to a National Cyber Security Alliance and McAfee study released in November 2011, 51% of Americans are not sharing more information on social media today than the previous year, and almost half have changed the way they use social networks because of safety and security concerns. Read More »

The proportion of online shoppers who say that the personalization of their shopping experience on smartphones (16.8%) or tablets (15.5%) did not meet their expectations during the 2011 holiday season far exceeds those who felt that way about their experience on a traditional e-commerce site (6.64%), according to [download page] a survey released in January 2012 by Baynote. Facebook also lagged, with 15.7% saying the personalization of their experience on the social network did not meet their expectations.

Facebook fared the worst in terms of privacy, with 21% saying that it did not meet their expectations, ahead of smartphones (15%), tablets (12.7%), and e-commerce sites (5%).
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53% of consumers who say they are active internet users do not believe that Facebook’s storefronts are committed to protecting them against fraud, with a further 23% saying they are unsure, according to [download page] a study released in December 2011 by ThreatMetrix in partnership with the Ponemon Institute. Read More »

The leading improvements US and Canadian consumers want from online shopping sites are more detailed and visual product information (37%), better search (29%), and easier access to a customer service representative via live help options such as click-to-call or live chat (20%), according to [pdf] an Oracle study released in December 2011. Data from “Cross-Channel Commerce 2011: The Consumer View” indicates that roughly 1 in 5 consumers want store contact information to be easier to find, while about 17% want better site design and navigation and an easier checkout process. Only 13% cited personalized offers as a top 3 site experience improvement. Read More »

55% of online consumers who have shopped in the past 90 days say that when making a digital purchase of under $25 they are concerned that the site will start sending them junk e-mail, closely followed by the proportion who cite a concern that their personal information will be sold to other merchants (54%), according to [download page] a PaymentOne survey conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research released in December 2011. Data from “Why Consumers Don’t Pay: Opportunities for Digital Commerce” indicates that a majority of active online shoppers are concerned that their credit card data would be intercepted or that unauthorized parties would access the information saved in the merchant’s database. Read More »

Almost 3 in 5 American consumers report that they enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products, compared to just 43% who say they enjoy getting emails from brands on new products, according to a study released in December 2011 by Epsilon Targeting. Data from the “2011 Channel Preference Study” indicates that a similar gap exists for Canadian consumers: 66% enjoy being notified about new products via postal mail, compared to 55% who report that enjoyment from receiving marketing emails about new products. Read More »

35% of Americans cite privacy concerns as their best description of the negative aspects or implications of a more technology-connected lifestyle, according to [pdf] a National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and McAfee study released in November 2011. Data from the “2011 Internet Home Users Survey” indicates that 22% dislike the cost implications of new devices and connectivity/service plans, while 15% miss the face-to-face social connections with family, friends, and community. Read More »

51% of US consumers feel safest accessing the Internet with a desktop or laptop, while just 1 in 10 feel safest using their smart phone and only 4% using their tablet, according to [pdf] a National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and McAfee study released in November 2011. Data from the “2011 Internet Home Users Survey” indicates that the remainder of the respondents either have only accessed the internet with a desktop or laptop (27%), or are unsure (9%) which device offers the safest way to access the Internet. Read More »

About seven in 10 (71%) of global consumers are willing to share their personal shopping data with brands online, according to new research from McCann Worldgroup released in October 2011. Data from “The Truth About Privacy” indicates that 5 times as many consumers will share their shopping data than will share their financial data online (14%).
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US and Canadian consumers display high degree of uncertainty about sharing their personal data with companies, according to an October 2011 survey from LoyaltyOne. Almost nine in 10 (88%) consumers say they feel companies are primarily collecting personal information for their own benefit, and 85% are often concerned about how much of their personal information is held by others.
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