Two thirds (66%) of UK consumers hear from brands digitally six or more times per day, yet a staggering 88% of them claim that half or less of the content they receive is relevant to them.
This is according to a survey conducted by customer data platform Treasure Data, which also found that almost one in five (19%) UK consumers said none of the content they receive was of relevance at all. This has shined a bright light on brands’ failure to deliver accurate data-driven targeting.
With 41% of consumers saying they would switch away from even their favourite brands if the customer experience worsened, these findings suggest brands are at significant risk of losing valued customers.
C-level executives are taking consumer trust for granted
Despite falling short on data-driven targeting – a major measure of customer experience – over three quarters (79%) of UK senior executives still believe that their customers trust them with their personal data.
But a significant portion of the C-suite recognise there is trouble ahead, with 40% saying that a lack of consumer trust to provide their personal data will be one of the biggest barriers to customer understanding over the next 12 months.
Data security concerns risk compounding the trust problem
Almost two thirds (63%) of the UK C-suite polled claim that their organisation has experienced a data breach, with more than 3 in 10 (34%) of those who had said it happened in the past year or 6 months.
This is a cause for concern for brands, as well over half (54%) of consumers say they would switch to a different brand if a brand they use had experienced a data breach.
Commenting on the research findings, director of Marketing EMEA and India at Treasure Data, Andrew Stephenson said: “Our research exposes a concerning trust gap between UK brand leaders and their shoppers. From customer experience to data security, consumers expect a lot from the brands they share their personal data with, and in some cases, it seems brands are falling short.
“As Brits continue to spend carefully amidst stubborn inflation, it is more important than ever for brands to use a data-driven approach to serve the right message in the right place, at the right time, in order to win market share.
“Brands today have unprecedented amounts of customer data at their disposal, but how effectively and safely that customer data is used looks to be the key differentiator for shoppers. Those which get data management right will find themselves pulling away from the competition.”
Treasure Data’s research was based on two surveys, conducted by Opinium. The first surveyed nationally representative samples of 2,000 adults from France, the US and UK – 6,000 respondents in total – with the data collected between September 25 and October 4, 2023. The second polled 500 C-suite decision makers in B2C companies with 2+ employees from France, the US and UK – 1,500 respondents in total – with the fieldwork conducted between September 25 and October 4, 2023.
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