Internet Users Prefer To Stay Invisible To Advertisers Survey Finds

Digital
Multichannel Advertising eCommerce

It was quite surprising to read today that advertisers across the globe may start to encounter difficulties in gathering consumer data on the web, as people seem to no longer be willing to share personal details online and are beginning to seek tools that can make them invisible in the digital world.

These are the conclusions market researcher Ovum has drawn from the results of its Consumer Insights Survey, which approached over 11,000 people from 11 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South and Central America. The survey showed that 68% of digital consumers would choose a “do-not-track” (DNT) option if it was available in an attempt to cover their online tracks and secure their privacy.

Internet users’ desire to remain untraceable comes at a time when regulators are taking a stricter stance on data tracking activities by advertisers for the purposes of their marketing campaigns. This suggests that access to private information could soon become quite challenging, thus affecting targeting advertising, customer relationship management, big data analytics and other methods marketers use to reach their targeted audience.

Mark Little, principal analyst at Ovum, considers that Internet companies should find a new way to approach consumers to make them willing to share personal information. They should try to reach Internet users by establishing positive direct relationships, by enhancing engagement and giving them security and privacy tools that they can trust. Advertisers need also to invest in technology that could help them to take a peek inside the mind of users not approving advertisers’ current practices as these are “tomorrow’s invisible consumers,” Little added.