Report: 60% of Millennials will share personal info with brands

Chicago – Sixty percent of Millennials would be willing to provide details about their personal preferences and habits to marketers, whereas Baby Boomers are much more protective of their personal information. According to a new study from Mintel, even for the most private of information, at least 30% of Millennials who claimed they would not provide it said they would do so after receiving an incentive offer (i.e., a $10-off coupon toward their next purchase), whereas for Baby Boomers only 13% could be swayed by these same type of incentives.

Delving deeper into this generation gap, Mintel finds that for more tech-skewing information such as cell numbers and social media profiles, Millennials are much more likely to share this with companies than Baby Boomers (30% compared to 14% and 27% compared to 10%, respectively). Yet for something a little more old-fashioned, like a mailing address, the trend is reversed, with 40% of Boomers offering up this info compared to 38% of Millennials. Credit scores are the most private information across the board, with only 17% of Millennials and 8% of Baby Boomers willing to provide that information.



"What this shows is that the younger generation, who grew up in the Information Age, is clearly more comfortable with sharing those types of personal information and are far less skeptical than their parents," said Fiona O'Donnell, category manager, retail, multicultural, lifestyles and leisure. "Millennials are predisposed to share their personal habits and contact information with marketers, but they do so only when the perceived benefits outweigh the risks. Given that their generation accounts for nearly a quarter of the population, the implications for businesses are tremendous, because as Millennials go, so goes the U.S. economy."