Offering customer rewards in return for sharing personal data is a common marketing tactic. Research just released by Global Research company GfK Ltd shows which groups, in which geographic regions, are most likely to respond favourably to these offers.
Some of the findings show that:
- Those aged 30-40 are most likely to share data for rewards
- China, Mexico and Russia lead for people willing to share data
- Germany, France and Brazil have the most people not willing to share data
Over a quarter (27 percent) of internet users across 17 countries strongly agree that they are willing to share their personal data in exchange for benefits or rewards like lower costs or personalized service. Only 19 percent indicated they are firmly unwilling to share their data.
GfK asked people to indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with the statement, “I am willing to share my personal data (health, financial, driving records, energy use, etc.) in exchange for benefits or rewards like lower costs or personalized service” – using a scale where “1” means “don’t agree at all” and “7” means “agree completely.”
Equal percentages of men and women are firmly willing (top two boxes) to share their data in return for these perceived benefits – both sitting at 27 percent. However, more women than men class themselves as firmly unwilling to share this information, with 21 percent of women versus 18 percent of men falling into this category.
People in their twenties and thirties are most likely to share their data, with a third saying they are firmly willing to do so (33 percent and 34 percent respectively). They are followed by those aged 15 to 19 years old, at 28 percent.
People in China are most ready to share their personal data in exchange for benefits, with 38 percent of the online population saying they are firmly willing to do so and only eight percent indicating they would refuse to do so. Other countries with higher than average levels of willingness are Mexico (30 percent), Russia (29 percent) and Italy (28 percent).
The five countries with the highest levels of people firmly against sharing their data are Germany (40 percent), France (37 percent), Brazil (34 percent), Canada (31 percent) and the Netherlands (30 percent).
By using GfK’s findings, businesses can save time and resources through recognizing in advance which target audiences in each country are likely to respond to standard data-sharing offers, and which audiences require bespoke offers designed to align with their specific mindsets.
To download full findings for each of the 17 countries, visit global study overview
