Australian brands failing to personalise digital experiences, new Deloitte research says

As privacy regulations here and overseas evolve, new Deloitte research offers some powerful insights for digital marketers to help pivot closer to a consumer-first approach to using data.

People value personalised online experiences but only 30% are happy with the way Australian brands deliver it, according to Deloitte’s Australian Privacy Index 2022 research.

More than half of Australia’s top 100 consumer brands are crossing the creepy line, with Deloitte’s analysis revealing many brands fail to offer any incentive in exchange for consumers’ creating an account with them.

The research — a mix of OAIC breach report analysis, a consumer survey and desktop research — established a ‘creepy line’ by exploring when consumers believe personalisation is valuable compared to when consumers consider it creepy.

Online services using people’s online information to personalise digital experiences was considered creepy when it involved:

• People’s activity being subjected to online surveillance (e.g. browser tracking)

• Brands using browsing information for suggesting products and services based on your interests

• Sharing personal information with a brand without knowing what purposes the brand will use the information for

• Seeing advertising online or advertising within online services you use

• Online services using your personal information to personalise your experience to your tastes and preferences.

Younger consumers — those aged 18 to 34 — are more willing to give up their information in exchange for products and services than those aged 35 and over, the report says.

Overall, 43% of consumers are happy to share personal information only when they are aware of how their information will be used.

Security matters more than money or gift cards incentives

There is rising consumer awareness of brands using personal information like browser tracking, with the 2022 research showing 73% are now aware compared to 29% before COVID-19 transformed Australians digital online behaviour.

Consumers understand brands track their browsing history and more than half believe brands sell their information to other brands, even when it may not be the case.

“We asked the dreaded question around privacy value exchange: would you give up your personal information for something else, and it was unanimous — secure storage is what they (consumers) want,” Deloitte partner Daniella Kafouris says.

Consumers prefer data security as the incentive to give up their email addresses and be tracked online over money, gift cards or other high value incentives.

The most incentivising to least incentivising factors for consumers to share their personal information with brands included:

1. Guarantee of secure information storage

2. Monetary payment

3. Personal health benefit

4. Access to better quality services or products

5. Discount on a service or product

6. Access to a service or product

7. Public health benefit

8. Voucher.

The report explains consumers don’t understand that many brands also track social media profile data and are generally unhappy with data marketing practices like:

• Location tracking (except when recommending a service nearby)

• Combining social media information with other data about them

• Storing information about them over time.

The great age divide -trust in brands and industry types is critical

Consumer trust in brands to share their online information varies by industry sector, with the industries consumers trust most to protect their online information ranked as follows:

1. 1.Government

2. Education and employment

3. Finance

4. Health and fitness

5. Energy and utilities

6. Travel and transport

7. Information technology

8. Real estate

9. Telecommunications and media

10. Retail

For Retail and Telecommunication and Media, consumers may not trust the rapid transition to online shopping or online consumption of media,” the report says.

“These industries have rushed to establish their online presence in a limited regulatory environment.”

Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk –who runs the regulator overseeing data breaches and privacy complaints -launched Deloitte’s research.

She said the digital environment and community expectations are constantly evolving –particularly with Australian privacy legislation under review.

“There remains a clear gap between what organisations provide to individuals and what individuals need to feel in control of their personal information,” she says.

The warnings from Europe for brands

With the GDPR already in place, Europe is considering even tougher legislation to require consumer consent from end users to provide online advertising, Ms Falk says.

“It is also considering separate legislation to impose bans regarding targeting advertising using sensitive data or personal information of minors,” she says.

Deloitte Italy’s risk advisory partner Tommaso Stranieri told the Australian research launch that larger fines and greater restrictions on digital marketing are coming.

“Digital marketing activity must always assume the awareness and will of individuals to be the target of such activities otherwise it may be illegal with significant risk to companies,” he says.

In Europe, he says GDPR is only one piece of the entire regulatory puzzle, with new European laws coming to:

• Regulate the use of artificial intelligence by risks of harm

• Regulate the fast-growing Internet of Things

• Regulate data services to ensure reliability of online services.

Australian regulators like the OAIC and ACCC are working co-operatively with regulators in Europe and America to legislate and regulate a global approach to the online digital marketing and privacy ecosystem.

A recommended approach for brands on using personal information

Deloitte partner Daniella Kafouris says the top takeaway from this year’s research — the eighth time it’s been done -is that businesses are still not getting it right.

“Consumers want personalisation but they need to be taken on a transparency journey to effectively build trust,” the report says.

The top 5 takeaways for businesses and brands operating in the online space and using personal information are:

1. INCREASE TRANSPARENCY: Provide transparent disclosures about the way personal information is used throughout the customer journey beyond privacy policy and collection statements. Think about using icons and plain English to bring customers on the journey of trust

2. BE CONSISTENT: Use consistent language to describe online tracking and monitoring activities and clearly define it to avoid confusion. Consumers want a personalised experience, not a creepy one

3. SET PRIVACY AS THE DEFAULT: Consumers are unlikely to actively make changes to their settings yet are unhappy with their location information being used and shared. Default settings should protect the privacy of the individual

4. EMPOWER CONSUMERS: Optimise preference centres to let consumers personalise their experiences online and establish a connection between the personalisation and the information they have shared to reduce the creepy factor

5. COMMUNICATE PRIVACY PROTECTIONS: The security of personal information is the leading factors consumers consider when sharing information with a brand.

About the research

The research surveyed 1000 Australians while also reviewing the top 100 consumer facing brands in Australia, examining brand privacy policies, collection notices, sign up process on websites and references to OAIC complaints data.