News

Nearly two-thirds of American shoppers don't trust retailers to protect their data

A new survey finds considerable concern for the security of credit card and personal information not only online, but also in brick-and-mortar stores themselves.

February 4, 2015

Bizrate Insights, a division of marketing solutions firm Connexity (formerly Shopzilla),found in a survey of nearly 5,000 online buyers a considerable concern for the security of credit card and personal information not only online, but also in brick-and-mortar stores themselves. Some 62 percent of respondents agreed that "Current security to protect credit card and personal information at retailers' brick-and-mortar stores isn't strong enough." This was only marginally worse than concerns for security on websites (60 percent agree) but better than mobile transactions (65 percent agree).

"News reports of information being stolen from retailers" was the top reason for consumer concerns on security (cited by 43 percent of respondents). Some 17 percent said their own information had been stolen, and 12 percent said "I don't believe that the store will take good care of me if there is a problem." Because of the data thefts, 29 percent agreed that "I find myself reluctant to make retail brick-and-mortar purchases." That figure jumped to 34 percent for online purchases.

While there is little differentiation in data security concerns by channel, there is some differentiation by generation. Overall, Generation Y is substantially less inclined to agree that data security is not strong enough (45 percent-51 percent vs. 60 percent-65 percent average), as well as less likely to agree that they are reluctant to make purchases in either online or store channels due to the past year's data thefts, while Boomers and Seniors are more likely to agree.