The influence of privacy concerns on perceptions of web personalisation

Abstract

Companies collect a wealth of personal data about their customers in order to be able to target their promotional messages to customers’ interests and demographics. Information technology and the internet in particular have created new opportunities for data collection, storage and processing. While technology enables companies to address customers directly and thus increase sales and customer retention, this form of personalisation may infringe upon users’ privacy. To examine this trade-off, we first identify benefits and costs of personalisation based on the findings of qualitative interviews. Next, we conduct a quantitative survey to assess the risks people perceive for various data types. We segment the respondents according to their privacy concerns and illustrate how people’s general attitudes towards personal data disclosure determine their perceptions of benefits and costs of personalisation.