Data breaches remain a concern amongst ANZ consumers
Well-publicised data breaches remain a concern amongst Australian and New Zealand consumers, according to new research from SAS.
The research, Mobility, Vulnerability and the State of Data Privacy, reveals that despite a slight lessening of concern about data privacy over the past year, 62% of all consumers surveyed are still concerned about continuing well publicised data breaches. The level of concern in Australia and New Zealand sat higher at 66%.
"Whichever the country, marketing and customer engagement is now all about personalisation. Consumers increasingly expect to be told about things that appeal to them individually and they willingly cooperate by disclosing their personal information," explains Iggy Pintado, SAS head of marketing for Australia and New Zealand.
"However, they are clearly concerned that their information may not be held securely and they worry that details about them are gathered without consent," he says.
"Interestingly, while women globally were much more concerned than men about what businesses do with their personal data, there was no difference between them in Australia and New Zealand," Pintado adds. "Nor was there any difference here based on income. However, concern amongst consumers aged 40 and older was double that of younger people.
The research also found that ANZ consumers are very willing to provide vendors with their names and email addresses but reluctant to give their age, a mailing address or phone number. Generally, New Zealanders were more forthcoming than Australians. When respondents were asked what degree of control they felt they had over the personal information they shared with organisations, more than 25% said they felt they had none at all.
"Local findings are perhaps influenced by the enthusiasm Australians and New Zealanders have for new technologies and by our comparatively very high use of the internet," says Pintado.
"In New Zealand, 95% of the population are internet users. The figure is 93% in Australia and less than 50% globally.
While similarly high percentages of consumers in both countries were concerned about the security of their information when recorded using smart phones, PCs, laptops and tablets, there were stark differences elsewhere, Pintado says.
According to the research, 63% of Australians worry about security using smart watches compared with 23% for New Zealand, and Australians' concern about wearables is twice that of New Zealanders. Both in the ANZ region and globally, only two in five people are confident about security with in-store technology.
"This research proves that businesses must work harder to be seen as digitally trustworthy in the eyes of their customers," Pintado explains.
"Senior executives across the organisation must balance the benefits of personalised marketing with the rigours of data security. Policies must clearly spell out how and what data is collected and shared, and there must be processes to ensure compliance. After all, a confident consumer is more likely to be a better customer," he says.
