Consumers Put a Price on Personal Data

How much is a piece of personal data worth? According to a study conducted by mobile giant Orange, consumers' price tag is around £13 for a single piece if it is shared with a brand they already know, and £15 for organisations they have not dealt with previously.

The Future of Digital Trust study, conducted by Loudhouse Research among 2,023 adults in France, Poland, Spain and the UK , found that four in five (80%) respondents said they know that their personal data has a value for companies, with a further 78% agreeing that this value increases the closer they match a brand's ideal customer demographic. According to the feedback, consumers consider the cumulative value of a common set of their personal data to be worth approximately £140, which increases to nearly £200 when it is shared with a company they are unfamiliar with.

Data on 'family and friends' e-mails or 'personal income' was seen as most valuable, with 59% of people saying they would 'never' share the e-mail addresses of five personal contacts. 39% said they would 'never' share the history of purchases made on their mobile, and 35% said they would 'never' share their full name or date of birth.

More than two thirds (67%) of respondents believe organisations benefit most from data sharing, with a tiny six per cent believing that the consumer benefits - representing a 'pronounced sense of imbalance' in the data value exchange between consumers and businesses, according to the report. Over three quarters (77%) of consumers believe that it is 'very important' or 'critical' that mobile operators inform them about how their data is being used.

Daniel Gurrola (pictured), VP Business Vision, at Orange, comments: 'The research clearly demonstrates that consumers are acutely aware that the information a company holds about them has a value to that brand. As the perceived value that consumers place on their data can change, depending on the relationship they hold with the organisation, companies must consider not only how they convey what the customer gets in return for this data exchange, but precisely how the data is being used, and where, in order to build that essential trust.'

Web sites: www.orange.com and www.loudhouse.co.uk .