Consumers still put a price on their privacy, but the value of protecting it appears to be dropping.
And this trend could play into the hands of service providers as they look for new ways to boost revenues by providing faster speed tiers or prioritized customer service.
More than half (57%) of consumers would be willing to share personal information, such as their location and top Facebook friends, in exchange for financial perks or an improved experience from their service provider, Amdocs found in a study conducted in April by Coleman Parkes that surveyed 3,900 consumers.
Amdocs said customers’ willingness to share such data could help service providers open up new revenue streams.
For example, 65% said they would share additional personal data in exchange for better pricing, improved network speed (61%), priority customer service (54%), and data plans that apply to all their devices (50%).
Of the potential incentives, cash was king, with 44% saying cash rewards were the most highly valued of the perks, followed by loyalty program rewards (38%), coupons or exclusive deals (39%). About one-third (36%) of those surveyed said they would divulge personal information for free.
“The results of this survey indicate that fears about unwillingness on the part of consumers to share personal data have been overblown in the industry,” said Ian Parkes of Coleman Parkes, in a statement. “Many consumers are willing, even eager, to share information, provided they receive value in return from their service provider. With the additional ability to share this information with third parties, customer data has the potential to become a new form of industry currency.”
Separately, Amdocs on Thursday announced it has latched big data capabilities to its CES 9 suite of billing, customer care and operational support system (OSS) products.
