Understanding and informing consumer and company expectations as it relates to the use of consumer personally identifiable information and purchase patterns is a key part of our educational focus. Since we work with consumers and companies, we can gather and communicate this information to consumers and industry alike.

In a recent survey of Catalog Choice consumer and company members, we found that there is a major “disconnect” between what consumers expect happens when they buy online and what companies think consumers expect.

We asked both groups the same question:

If someone makes a purchase online from a website, regardless of the way they might like their personal information handled, what are their expectations regarding the company practices for email, direct mail, third party sharing and website recommendations. The chart below shows the consumer expectations as well as what companies think consumers expect. The gap in the percentage of agree and disagree between companies and consumers is dramatic.  Companies should consider closing the expectation gap by treating personal information with more care.

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