Surveys of Consumer Attitudes
Introduction
Whichever survey you read, the gist is the same - only the precise numbers are different"
Consumers do not like unsolicited marketing material sent via email:
Sent by vendors they have not dealt with before; or
Sent by vendors they have dealt with before.
Consumers want an advance choice over whether they receive marketing materials via email.
A significant proportion will actually avoid companies that send such material, even if they have purchased from that company before.
Use of email for marketing purposes without permission actually hampers online commerce, and is preventing some people from purchasing online at all.
When you look at the figures, the conclusion is inescapable that if you provide an honest, up-front choice, without pre-checking "market to me", more customers are likely to buy from you. That is, the more privacy you offer your customers, and the more obvious you make it that you offer them real privacy, the more customers you will acquire.
Conversely, the less you value your customers' privacy, the less up-front choice you give them, the more existing customers you will lose.
The irony of the situation is that in their excessive zeal to use customer's email addresses for marketing without permission, online vendors are actually decreasing the total size of the online market, which in the long run hurts all online vendors.
Beyond Concern: Understanding Net Users' Attitudes About Online Privacy
This survey, by AT&T Laboratories in April 1999, found that:
61% of users had a strong desire to avoid unsolicited communications arising from providing information to web sites.
87% of users are concerned about privacy issues.
52% of users consider unsolicited commercial email to be "very serious".
Businessweek
Business week have conducted two surveys, the first in 1998, and the second in 2000.
A Little Privacy, Please
This 1998 survey found that:
78% of users would use the Internet more if their privacy were guaranteed.
53% wanted immediate government action to protect privacy.
A Growing Threat
This 2000 survey found that:
78% of online shoppers are somewhat or very concerned that their online purchases might result in the vendor sending unwanted information (up from 65% in 1998).
94% of people who do not shop online are somewhat of very concerned that if they made online purchases this would result in the vendor sending unwanted information (up from 86% in 1998).
79% of users wanted vendors to get opt-in permission (active consent) before using their email address for marketing purposes.
57% of users wanted new laws to protect their privacy (up from 53% in1998).
Georgia Tech's Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center's Surveys
The GVU Center conducted 6 monthly surveys up until October 1998. In the last survey, they found that:
77.5% of users considered privacy more important than convenience.
73% of users objected to receiving direct marketing material targetted to their demographics.
90% of users objected to receiving mass emailings.
Pew Internet Project
This survey, conducted in August 2000, found that:
86% of users wanted an opt-in standard for use of personal information.
45% of users are unwilling to provide their real personal information, including their email address, in order to use a web site.
Cognitiative Survey
This survey, from April 1999, found that 32% of purchasers "dislike sales-oriented email so much they actually avoid the vendor who sends them. Companies may actually be losing business by taking this type of marketing action." This figure relates to marketing communications from vendors that the customer has bought from before, and is higher for business to business purchases.
Cyber Dialoge
This 2001 survey by Cyber Dialog (now Fulcrum Analytics), reported by NUA Internet Surveys, found that:
77% of users consider unsolicited marketing material by email an invasion of their privacy when it comes from a company they do not know.
42% of users still consider it to be an invasion of their privacy if they know the company.
48% of users receiving unsolicited marketing material by email report that this damages their impression of the company.
Consumer Attitudes to Privacy
This 1995 survey by the Australian Privacy Commissioner predates the problems of spam and the irresponsible permission practices of many online vendors, but it gives an enlightening view of consumer views on privacy, including direct marketing.
Center for Democracy and Technology Survey
The Center for Democracy and Technology maintains a summary of privacy surveys that includes some of the surveys on this page, and undertook their own survey in 1997, which found that:
18% of respondents considered junk email to be the most pressing privacy issue on the Internet.
52% of respondents avoided giving out their email addesses because they are concerned about their privacy.
36% of respondents provide false information when asked to register at a web site.