An investigation into the millennial consumer attitudes towards personalisation in online advertising and privacy concerns affiliated
Personalisation has lately gained momentum within marketing practice, thanks to the technological advancements now available. Friedlein (2013) states that one-to-one marketing is back, however, this time it’s become personal. This has furthermore been acknowledged in media channels in the last couple of years, such as The Guardian (2015), referring to personalisation as the latest ‘buzz’ and Smart Insights (2015), emphasising how it is key for customer retention. Companies are now more digitally capable to employ online strategies utilising data collection tools, such as cookies and other consumer tracking procedures. Furthermore, a study mentioned in E-consultancy (2013) has revealed the importance of personalisation for increasing consumer engagement, now considered a vital key for business performance. However, the notion of privacy concerns has become more prominent as the personalisation strategy has emerged. Consumers have increasingly expressed concerns as of how their data is being collected and fear for the privacy of their personal information (Pierson & Heyman, 2011). These concerns plays a major role in customers’ acceptance of personalised content. Which might result in behaviour that will affect personalisation as a whole, which may cause a negative user experiences. However, marketers assert that their interest in consumer’s personal data is solely to enhance identification of potential customer and condition existing ones (Lee, 2004). Although personalisation may seem like an intrusive way for marketers to reach their target audiences, it is without doubt beneficial for the consumers too, as of the overload of content available, personalisation tailors a more relevant consumer experience for each individual needs and wants (E-consultancy, 2013). More specifically, this research has considered the millennial consumers due to the relevance for the current markets. Millennials are the main influencers in today’s society, making them the most important segment predisposed to be studied further. This generation spends most of their daily hours on online devices and portray their lives through the social media platforms available (Bolton, et al., 2013). Investigation into this current generation of millennials and their attitudes towards these issues can provide both academics and marketers with valid information for improved user experiences.