Trusting Online Retailers With Personal Data

With this year’s Cyber Monday just around the corner, Janrain surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers and found 48% will try to only buy from companies they believe will protect their personal data, though they don’t fully trust all of the brands they conduct business with. A third of consumers said they will only buy from companies they can trust will protect their data – and 14% said trust won’t factor into their purchases, because they don’t believe any company can protect their personal data. When Janrain asked consumers to name the types of businesses they trusted least, online retailers appeared near the bottom of the list among other more trusted organizations. The full list of businesses consumers consider the least trustworthy in terms of data protection are ranked as follows:

1. Internet companies such as Google or Facebook (31%)
2. Hospitality–hotels, restaurants, etc. (15%)
3. Internet/cable/phone service providers such as AT&T or Verizon (10%)
4. Retail outlets such as Gap or Home Depot (7%)
5. News outlets (6%)
6. Financial services (6%)
7. Online stores such as Amazon (4%)
8. Manufacturers of tech gadgets such as Apple or Samsung (3%)
9. Travel companies–airlines, etc. (3%)
10. Healthcare–pharmaceuticals, healthcare providers, etc. (2%)

When asked to name the brands that are most and least trusted when it comes to protecting their personal data (without any prompts from Janrain), consumers ranked them as follows:

Most Trusted:

1. Amazon
2. Google
3. Apple
4. Chase
5. PayPal

Least Trusted:

1. Facebook
2. Google
3. Wells Fargo
4. Equifax
5. Target

Read more here.