A new TrustTracker study by CitizenMe, a personal data exchange platform, shows that consumer trust in the way brands use their personal data is declining across the board. From July to October, consumer trust dropped by 17 percent showing alarming signs for brands hoping to create more trusted relationships with customers post GDPR. Even Amazon, who remain the most trusted of the UK’s top 20 superbrands, have seen a decline in trust since July.
With new high profile data hacks occurring at worryingly regular intervals, and continued press coverage of GDPR, people are taking more notice of the way brands use their personal data. CitizenMe’s reports suggest this is having a negative impact on the way customers perceive brands at a general level too. When asked if they felt these brands were a force for good, the number of people agreeing also declined by 17 percent on average since July.
Brands hoping to continue to use customers’ personal data between different departments also face an uphill battle to keep consumers on board. Just 18% of people would be willing for their personal data to be used between different departments for marketing or customer experience purposes. To maintain trust, brands will need to rethink the way they use personal data in a way that is both compliant, and creates new value for customers.
Data presented here is from CitizenMe’s TrustTracker, which measures consumer trust in brands and their use of data. Brands buying their monthly reports get access to historical data since July, industry benchmarks, and a view of how key competitors fare, to see the real world impact news and organisational changes have.
To find out more about Citizen Me please visit: https://www.citizenme.com/
