News
81% of Consumers Would Stop Engaging with a Brand Online After a Data Breach, Reports Ping Identity
October 2019 by Ping Identity
Ping Identity released results from its 2019 Consumer Survey: Trust and Accountability in the Era of Breaches and Data Misuse. The results expose how today’s environment—ripe with data misuse and large-scale security breaches—is impacting consumer behavior and relationships with service providers around the world.
Data security is a legitimate worry for today’s consumers around the world. Approximately one half (49%) of respondents report that they are more concerned about protecting their personal information than they were one year ago. This is evident by the lack of confidence consumers around the world have in a brand’s ability to safeguard personal information.
? A data breach could be game over for a brand. A significant number of respondents (81%) would stop engaging with a brand online following a data breach.
? Consumers expect companies to protect them. The expectation from 63% of consumers is that a company is always responsible for protecting data. This includes when users fall victim to phishing scams or use an unencrypted Wi-Fi connection.
? Sharing of personal data is a problem for consumers. More than half of respondents (55%) say a company sharing their personal data without permission is even more likely than a data breach (27%) to deter them from using that brand’s products.
? Social media companies don’t instill trust. Social media companies are the least trusted among sectors, with only 28% of respondents reporting they feel confident in these platforms’ ability to protect their personal information.
? Poor login experiences lead to cancelled service. Almost two-thirds of consumers (65%) are frustrated by login experiences and one-third (33%) have stopped using a device, app or service, or have left a bad review following an inconvenient login experience.
“There’s no question, businesses risk losing customers and damaging their brands if they lack strong, transparent data protection practices,” said Richard Bird, chief customer information officer, Ping Identity. “With a large percentage of consumers holding companies responsible for data protection, there is a competitive advantage for organizations that deliver secure and convenient experiences through identity management—and with that, a danger for those who don’t.”
Survey Methodology
Ping Identity surveyed a representative sample of 4,017 adults in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Germany who are at least 18 years old and use at least one of these online sites or services on a regular basis: shopping, banking, movie/TV, music, government services, travel or Uber/Lyft-type apps. Additionally, respondents must have entered a minimum of one of the following on a website or app in the past 12 months: address; date of birth; phone number; credit card number; bank information; social security number; or driver’s license number. The geographic breakdown of survey respondents is as follows: U.S. - 1,004; UK - 753; Australia - 755; France - 751; Germany - 754. The survey was conducted online between July 31 and August 6, 2019. The margin of error is plus or minus 1.6%.
