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The Consumer
Data Value
Exchange
Building better terms of
engagement for data,
and why the future of
brands depends on it
Data is becoming the fundamental
currency in brand-consumer relationships,
and yet it’s an exchange only one party in
the transaction fully understands. For
marketers looking to unlock future
customer value and build stronger
customer loyalty, lack of data
understanding on the part of their
audience is becoming a critical challenge.
In The Consumer Data Value Exchange, a
groundbreaking study into consumer
attitudes towards data sharing, Microsoft
partnered with The Future Laboratory and
Sentient Decision Science to uncover
what consumers are truly willing to share,
and how they feel about doing so.
Using innovative techniques to probe
both automatic responses and conceptual
understanding of data, we looked beyond
the debates around privacy concerns that
have dominated research in this area to
date.
The result is a wholly new set of insights
around how consumers perceive brands’
use their data, how those perceptions
shape their daily responses in the digital
environment, and why the challenge for
brands extends beyond persuading
consumers to share their data, to
demonstrating why it is in their interest to
do so.
Among the key findings to emerge from the
study:
• Consumers’ narrow view of data as
personal information fuels the struggle
for many to understand the wider range
of opportunities it can be used to their
benefit.
• Globally, consumers prefer cash, followed
by discounts and loyalty points. When
taking into account implicit and explicit
tradeoffs, 89 percent would exchange
their data for discounts, while 63 percent
would share their personal information if
it meant a better user experience (e.g.
automatic logins).
• There is a 15 point “sharing gap”
between what consumers perceive they
willingly share (41 percent) and what
they believe brands actually collect (56
percent).
• Educating consumers about their
personal data, increasing visibility to
how collected data is used, and relating
data exchange benefits to consumers’
emotional needs are essential
strategies for brands looking to foster
data sharing.
• In exchange for additional services, 63
percent of consumers would opt to
“pay” by viewing ads, while 62 percent
would allow more information about
them to be known.
Global ranking of preference to share data types in exchange for new digital services. The
lower the preference, the more obvious the benefit has to be for the consumer.
Most
willing
Least
willing
Biometrics
Personal
information
Communications
Social
identity
Organization
/movement
Demographics
Activities/
preferences
Microsoft
Consumer
Insights
While many tech and media companies conduct market research that describes what
consumers are doing, the Microsoft Consumer Insights team believes innovation
stems from getting to the why. As a result, we take a consumer-centric approach. We
go beyond behavior to focus on why consumers do what they do—whether that’s
choosing one brand over another, or exhibiting a preference for a specific platform.
Our goal is to humanize digital behavior and motivation, enabling brands and
agencies to put consumer needs at the center of their marketing strategies.
Contacts
Natasha Hritzuk
Sr. Director, Head of Global Consumer Insights
natashah@microsoft.com
Ivy Esquero
Senior Consumer Insights Manager, (Study Lead)
ivye@microsoft.com
Kelly Jones
Head of Thought Leadership
kellyjon@microsoft.com
Esther Burke
Consumer Insights Manager
esthbur@microsoft.com
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