ORANGE : Consumers value their personal data at €170 / £140, Orange study finds

Orange today releases the second stage in its research into consumer attitudes relating to how businesses use their personal data.

The research found that consumers consider the cumulative value of a common set of their personal data to be worth approximately €170/£140, a figure businesses need to bear in mind when balancing the use of personal data and supplying services in return. However, consumers place a higher value on their data when sharing it with a company they are unfamiliar with - rising to nearly €240/£200 for the full set of data commonly shared online.

On average, consumers attribute a value of approximately €15/£13 to an individual piece of data that they are willing to share with a brand they already know. However, the value of data increases by 20 percent to approximately €19/£15 for organisations they have not dealt with previously, demonstrating the importance of fostering trust for brands through transparency  about how the information is being used, and what benefit the consumer is receiving by sharing it.

other key findings included:

• Four in five (80 percent) respondents know that their personal data has a value for companies, with a further 78 percent agreeing that this value increases the closer they match a brand's ideal customer demographic.
• 67 percent of respondents believe organisations benefit the most from the sharing of data, and just 6 percent believing the consumer benefits the most - illustrating a pronounced sense of imbalance in the data-sharing relationship between consumers and businesses.
• 77 percent of consumers stated that it is 'very important' or 'critical' for mobile operators to inform them about how their data is being used - nearly as important as providing them with reliable service and value for money. 

"The research clearly demonstrates that consumers are acutely aware that the information a company holds about them has a value to that brand," says Daniel Gurrola, Vice President, Business Vision, Orange. "As the perceived value that consumers place on their data can change, depending on the relationship they hold with the organisation, companies must  consider not only how they convey what the customer gets in return for this data exchange, but precisely how the data is being used, and where in order to build that essential trust."

The research also found that whilst consumers clearly understand that their data is valuable, the value that they assign to specific data types does not always reflect the usefulness of that data to a company, or the reality of what types of data is often collected by them. 
For example, 'family and friends' emails' or 'personal income' data is seen by consumers as the most valuable sets of personal data (both over €15) with people less willing to share this information - 59 percent say they would 'never' share the email addresses of five personal contacts.  This is a much higher percentage than 'purchase history' and 'location' (39 percent would 'never' share the history of purchases made on their mobile), as well as 'personal demographic' data (35 percent would 'never' share their full name or date of birth) - meaning that consumers were more comfortable sharing these types of personal data. In reality, 'demographic' and 'purchase history' data is likely to be much more valuable to companies than the email address (and email addresses of contacts) yet consumers are happier to share those types of data. 
"These results show that while consumers attach a value to their data, this value is potentially at odds with the risk of sharing it, highlighting the need for more clarity and education," adds Gurrola.

Declan Lonergan, Vice President of Research, 451 Research, commented: "It's apparent from this research that consumers' attitude to sharing their personal data is developing rapidly as they become increasingly familiar with the concept. Establishing and maintaining the necessary consumer trust to enable organisations to reap the benefits of transferring, storing and analysing this data will become a critical new battleground for all digital players in the coming years."
In 2013, Orange made a commitment to our customers and the European Commission to increase transparency and control through its Orange Data Privacy Charter. As part of that commitment, Orange is making our policies clearer, and in 2015 will deliver new features to allow customers to manage their personal data.

to learn more about the Orange Personal Data Charter, click here: http://www.orange.com/sirius/hello/2013/en/further-with-new-uses/charte-des-donnees-perso.html

This report is part two of research conducted late 2013 and early 2014. The executive summary and an overview of the results of this report and the previous Future of Digital Trust report can be downloaded at www.orange.com/digitaltrust

Orange aims to be recognised by its customers, users and partners as their "trusted operator". To that end the Group has made clear and solid commitments to protecting personal data and respecting our customers' privacy.
On 7th November, at the Hello 2013 Show, Stéphane Richard officially signed a charter comprising 4 commitments to protecting our customers' personal data and privacy:
-    security of customers' personal data through its reliable processing and secure storage
-    control for customers over their own personal data and how it is used, including a personal dashboard
-    transparency in terms of the handling of data for its customers and users at all stages throughout our relationship
-    support for all its customers and users to help them protect their privacy and manage their personal data better
To learn more about the Orange Personal Data Charter, click here . 

Loudhouse conducted 2,023 online interviews among mobile phone users in the France, Poland, Spain and the UK. Fieldwork was conducted in December 2013 and January 2014. Exchange rate used € = £0.8260 taken as a mean rate throughout January 2014.

Orange is one of the world's leading telecommunications operators with sales of 41 billion euros in 2013 and has 161,000 employees worldwide at 30 June 2014, including 101,000 employees in France. Present in 30 countries, the Group has a total customer base of more than 236 million customers at 30 June 2014, including 179 million mobile customers and 16 million fixed broadband customers worldwide. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services.
Orange is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN). For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.livetv.orange.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr. Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.
Orange is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).
For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.livetv.orange.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.
Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.