A recent survey conducted by TRUSTe and TNS reveals that holiday shoppers are reducing their online shopping this year in response to privacy concerns.

According to the second annual online shopping survey conducted by TRUSTe and TNS, 58 percent of consumers surveyed say they may reduce their online shopping during the holiday season this year due to fear of identity theft and other privacy concerns -- up from 49 percent a year ago. "The results show consumers have been paying attention to the onslaught of spyware, phishing, identity theft, and credit card fraud,"said Fran Maier, executive director of TRUSTe.

Half of the 1,071 people surveyed this year plan to limit their holiday online shopping to some extent. Eight percent are so concerned that they do not plan to shop online at all, up two percentage points over last year. The leading reasons cited by those reducing or halting online shopping:

1. Identity theft concerns (mentioned by 52% in 2004, up from 35% in 2003)
2. Fear of credit card theft (44% in 2004, 30% in 2003)
3. Concerns about spyware potentially being downloaded onto one’s computer (44% in 2004)
4. Receiving spam after purchasing from a Web site (42% in 2004, up from 38% in 2003)

Furthermore, the survey indicated that almost half (46%) of Internet shoppers say they buy only from e-tailers that have a privacy statement or seal.

"There is no doubt that consumers are far more wary of these online threats as we approach the shopping season this year,"said David Stark, privacy officer of TNS, the world's second largest marketing company. Retailers today have to give consumers a reason to trust them with their personal information. A meaningful privacy statement or a privacy seal is an essential starting point.

Consumers were also questioned about their comfort level when making online purchases from brand names as opposed to smaller e-tailers. One-third say they are less willing to buy from smaller online retailers than larger, well-known companies in part because of concerns that smaller e-tailers are more likely to misuse shoppers’ personal information.

The TNS-TRUSTe survey was conducted between October 15 and 20, 2004. It consisted of a total of 1,071 online interviews, and the survey results are considered accurate to within three percentage points 19 out of 20 times. For complete results of the 2004 Holiday Shopping/Online Privacy survey, contact Krystal Putman, marketing associate at TRUSTe.

 

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