Trust in how companies use personal data down across several sectors
Across several sectors, consumer trust in organizations’ ability to handle personal data has either remained flat or slipped, according to year-over-year trended data from a global YouGov poll.
While there are certainly some bright spots in our findings, the results overall paint a concerning picture that brands will wish to address. Data leaks affect every sector and it’s up to brands to clearly communicate to consumers how they use and protect customer data, as well as what steps they take when a breach does occur.
Polling data – conducted in 17 markets in 2021, and 18 markets in 2022 – shows banks overall saw the greatest decline in trust, with half of all consumers (50%) stating they trust banks and financial services institutions with their personal data, down five points from last year. Data shows this trust either remained flat or fell in all 17 markets in which YouGov conducted its research, except for one. We saw a marginal increase in France, from 37% to 38%. In Great Britain, trust fell eight points to 51% while trust in the United States fell six points to 39%.
Hospitals also saw a decrease in the proportion of consumers who trust them with their personal data. Polling data shows 40% of consumers overall indicated as such, down four points from last year. However, consumers in Mexico run counter to the overall figure (33% in 2021 vs. 38% in 2022). Trust in the US is down a significant nine points to 27%, and down seven points to 42% in Great Britain. The pharmaceutical sector saw a two-point decrease to 13% overall.
Overall, trust in airlines with personal data is down very slightly by one point to 14%, with notable increases in Hong Kong (12% in 2021 vs. 14% in 2022) and Sweden (13% vs. 15%). In the US, trust in airlines dropped three points to 7%, and trust in Great Britain dropped one point to 10%. Trust in hotels overall dropped by a point to 12%
Online retailers also took a hit, with trust with personal data down three points overall, but the sector did see an increase in several markets including China (7% in 2021 vs.9% in 2022), Denmark (12% vs. 14%), Germany (35% vs. 27%) and Indonesia (6% vs. 15%). In the US, we see a marginal one-point decrease to 9% and two-point drop to 12% in Great Britain.
Trust in tech companies with personal data is low but remains flat at 9% overall. The sector did make strides in both China (11% in 2021 vs. 17% in 2022) and the United Arab Emirates (12% vs. 14%). Trust among social media companies dropped slightly by one point to 7%. In the US, we see a two-point drop to 5% and a one-point increase in Great Britain.
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2022 Methodology: The latest data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying between 528 and 2,002 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in January 2022 Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.
2021 Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 17 markets with sample sizes varying between 505 to 2,251 for each market. All interviews were conducted online in February 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.