Nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of UK online shoppers regularly use guest accounts to purchase goods to avoid handing over personal data, according to new research.

A survey of 4,000 UK online shoppers from Empathy.co, found that nearly half of consumers prefer to shop with brands they trust, 20 per cent are more willing to share personal information with brands they favour, and 22 per cent are even willing to spend more for the brands and websites they trust.

40 per cent of respondents agreed that they don’t like being asked for unnecessary or sensitive data, while 28 per cent admitted that they would like to take back information from brands they don’t like or trust if they could.

Similarly, 42 per cent of online shoppers revealed that they are careful when providing personal data and accepting legal notices, and 37 per cent would like more control of the data that businesses have on them, much of which is handed over without the consumer even realising and sometimes even without their consent.

Only 13 per cent said that they are not concerned about how their data is used at all and will hand it over whenever necessary.

One in 10 said that they like that businesses remember their tastes and preferences via the use of cookies.

“With the global pandemic forcing the majority of consumers to shop online, there has been a surge in demand for privacy, security and a clear increase in fears over data security,” said Angel Maldonado, chief executive, Empathy.co. “In fact, data privacy is of such importance in today’s climate that just promising to not misuse data is no longer enough, and brands need to show that they’re behaving ethically and that they are using customer data responsibly.

Maldonado added: “Therefore, improving digital experiences and e-commerce platforms so that they are transparent and act with customer care in mind is imperative to improving brand power and showcasing trust.”

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