While conventional marketing thinking says that customers prefer personalized marketing experiences and are willing to share more personal data to get that, new research shows that they may not.
In a survey of 1,100 US internet users, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) found that 93% of respondents said they would be willing to share their gender with a website, but that dropped marginally to 90% if it meant the data was used to create a personalized ad experience. Approximately 91% said they would share their race or ethnicity, but that dropped to 86% for a personalized experience.
This tracks with our own reporting on personalization and data-driven ad experiences. Principal analyst Nicole Perrin found that while marketers may think customers want personalization, there’s growing consumer skepticism over those experiences.
“While a 1-point lift [in engagement or conversions] for a marketer may be a result worth celebrating, it doesn’t necessarily mean consumers are perceiving those messages as personalized and highly relevant,” she said.
The ARF survey also found…
