Most British Online Shoppers Couldn’t Give A #@%& About Black Friday

Less than a third of UK consumers plan to shop online for bargains this Black Friday, November 27 – one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

The majority (70 percent) saying they have no plans to do so, according to a survey conducted for global infosec and risk management company, NTT Com Security. Less than a quarter (23 percent) will do ‘some’ shopping online, while just seven percent will do ‘most’ or ‘all’ of it online.

Privacy and safety

The poll of more than 500 UK consumers, explores ‘consumer trust’ in online sites, including retailers, banks, social networks and dating sites, and reveals that two-thirds of users are concerned about the privacy and safety of personal information online, while 69 percent worry about whether a site might be fake or fraudulent. A third worry about making payments online.

When it comes to online sites that we trust the most, banks top the list, followed by healthcare providers (doctors/hospitals) and insurance companies, while online dating sites are seen as least trustworthy, followed by social networks.

A quarter of users would stop using a site and move to another supplier if the site suffered a security or data breach, while around half (44 percent) would stop using it until the problem was fixed – however, 11 percent say they would carry on as normal.

According to the survey respondents, the theft of credit card or other personal information is the biggest threat to privacy online, followed by identity theft, viruses and scam emails.

Stuart Reed, senior director of Global Product Marketing at NTT Com Security, said: “Retailers and other online businesses take note. Concerns over privacy of personal information and the risk of identity theft are a very real concern for people considering using services and shopping online. Given the sheer number and scale of security breaches and attacks on personal data this year, it’s no surprise that people are focusing on the negatives rather than the positives.

“But opportunities like Black Friday and Christmas come round once a year and retailers should be capitalising on a potential online shopping bonanza. Data privacy and confidence in a site’s ability to protect personal information is integral to consumer trust. So it’s vital that organisations can demonstrate this by doing the basics well – ensuring they have the right security processes, procedures and responses, and engaging with customers to help build awareness and show them that the necessary security and privacy levels are in place.”

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