6 in 10 US Millennials claim that they would be willing to share personal information with marketers, while Baby Boomers would be much less likely to do so, according to results from a Mintel study. That gap even extends to those unwilling to share information: at least 30% of Millennials who would not provide private information said they would be swayed by an incentive offer, while only 13% of reluctant Baby Boomers agreed. A separate study [pdf] from Communispace comes to similar conclusions. Indeed, when Communispace asked respondents whether they would share their data for perks, Millennials (in this case, aged 13-31) were most likely to agree, with that likelihood decreasing with each generation. Similarly, younger generations were the most likely to say they would voluntarily share personal data with a company in exchange for a 5% price discount.
The Mintel study, meanwhile, broke out willingness to share various types of information, finding that:
- Millennials are about twice as likely as Baby Boomers to share cell phone numbers (30% vs. 14%);
- The younger group is almost 3 times as likely to share social media profiles (27% vs. 10%); and
- They’re about twice as likely to share credit scores (17% vs. 8%), considered the most private information.
Boomers were as likely as their younger counterparts to share their mailing addresses, though (40% and 38%, respectively).
The general trend towards more sharing among youth – particularly when perks are involved – echoes findings from a USC study released last year.
Other Findings:
- According to the Communispace study, 86% of respondents would click a “do not track” button were it available.
- At the same time, 70% would voluntarily share personal data for a 5% discount.
- Only 13% of respondents approve of the buying and selling of data.
- According to the Mintel survey, 42% of Millennials feel that buying something that makes them feel good about themselves is very important, a figure which rises to 52% among Millennial fathers.
About the Data: Communispace conducted this study during the summer of 2013, with 8,343 participants across 52 of Communispace’s private online communities. Methodologies included two open-ended, threaded discussions and one 16-question survey. Group difference tests were performed with age, gender, and country as independent factors.
