Consumers don’t trust any industry with their personal data

U.S. consumers have little faith that companies are able to keep their person data safe. The sentiment crosses nearly all industries with consumers saying that the lack of trust will likely affect purchase habits, according to Radius Global Market Research.

“Ongoing security breaches have pushed the issue of online security to the top of consumers’ minds,” says Radius GMR Director, Jamie Myers. “We set out to determine which industries were the most trusted among consumers when it comes to keeping data secure. In the end, those surveyed felt that no company in any industry is doing it well.”

When the survey asked U.S. technology owners which industry is doing the best job at keeping their information safe, no clear leader emerged with “no industry” ranking the highest (29%).

In looking at specific companies/brands across these different industries, most surveyed were unable to clearly identify a brand leader that does the best job in protecting and preventing identity theft/fraud.

In general financial websites out-perform other industries with just over 25% saying they do the “best job” in securing their personal information. At the other end of the spectrum, operating systems and social media sites are not perceived very highly with securing personal information.

“Consumers made it clear that a perception of poor security practices is reason enough to stop doing business with a brand,” adds Myers. “Clearly it is not enough to have a good track record. In this environment brands must adjust communications to merchandise ongoing efforts in order to establish and keep trust.”