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Are consumers willing to exchange personal data for rewards?

by Greg Kaminsky , 08.02.2017

Over a quarter of internet users (27 percent) 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.

In contrast, 19 percent are firmly unwilling* to share their data.

Asked whether 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”, more people firmly agree with sharing personal data, in return for rewards, than firmly disagree.

Those in China, Mexico and Russia were the most likely to agree firmly with the statement about sharing personal data, while Germany, France and Brazil on the other hand, had the highest amounts of people that were heavily unwilling to share their data.

Willingness to share personal data in exchange for benefits or rewards
 

Globally, people aged 30-40 were the most likely to be highly willing to share personal data (34%), followed by those in their twenties (33%) and those aged 15-19 years old (28%).

Equal percentages of both men and women are firmly willing to share their data in return for benefits – both standing at 27 percent. However, more women than men class themselves as firmly unwilling, standing at 21 percent of women versus 18 percent of men.

For consumers around the world who are willing to share their personal data, programmatic advertising allows brands to put them at the center of their marketing and deliver more meaningful messages that ultimately resonate deeper with them.

Footnote:

* 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 7-point scale where “1” means “don’t agree at all” and “7” means “agree completely. The data given in this article shows the percentage of respondents selecting top two boxes (indicating strongly or completely agree) or bottom two boxes (indicating strongly or completely disagree)

About the study

GfK conducted an online survey with over 27,000 consumers aged 15 or older in 22 countries.

As part of the survey, Fieldwork was completed in June 2015 and data are weighted to reflect the demographic composition of the online population age 15+ in each market. markets included are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, U.K and U.S.Get the full results from our global study