Shoppers & privacy statements

Posted by Michael Bloch in web marketing (Saturday December 9, 2006 )

Other finding of interest to merchants and site owners who gather user data:

– 33% have used false information when registering in order to maintain privacy.

– 26% have looked for third-party seals or certification

– 12% have logged-in anonymously or utilized anonymizing services

– 67% block pop-ups, reject cookies or block specific Web sites

I believe the figure related to third party seals and verifications has increased in recent years, so it’s something certainly worthwhile considering implementing on your own site if you haven’t done so already.

Third party seals and verifications

Minimizing shopping cart abandonment

Creating a privacy policy

Read the TRUSTe online privacy survey report

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While many online shoppers still don’t read privacy statements; 20% of them do so regularly and far more intermittently. Even 20% is an appreciable level; in fact, somewhat higher than I thought it might be.

In a survey commissioned by TRUSTe and executed by the market research company TNS, just over 1,000 U.S. consumers were polled on issues relating to privacy and trust during September of this year.

In relation to privacy statements in general, while 20% stated it was a document they viewed often; 43% of respondents said they have read privacy policies at various times in the previous 6 months. 5% frequently check to see if privacy statements have been updated or revised on sites they visit regularly – quite an interesting statistic.

This result underlines the fact that privacy statements remain a very important document to be included on any web site, particularly where user details are being collected and/or in an ecommerce environment. A privacy policy and reassuring your visitors in other ways should be considered a vital part of your marketing strategy.

Another important key finding in the survey report is that a whopping 71% refused to register on a site or purchase online due to the level of information asked on a site that they did not want to provide. While it’s critical that merchants collect sufficient information to protect themselves from fraud, asking for too much contributes greatly to shopping cart abandonment.

Other finding of interest to merchants and site owners who gather user data:

– 33% have used false information when registering in order to maintain privacy.