Shared data is a valuable commodity for companies, building digital trust.
The question of how we handle data and its value is increasingly becoming a topic of public debate. Data, as a source of information, has become a crucial economic asset. Companies gather a plethora of personal information about consumers and tailor their offers or products to suit them. Specifically, over a third of Europeans (38%) are so-called "heavy" internet users, spending almost every spare moment online, using various digital services, and intensively sharing their data. Compared to the European average, Czechs are less active, with roughly a quarter (28%) being "heavy" users. Contact details are the most commonly shared information (44%), according to an international survey conducted by EOS KSI, which explored the value of data among internet users and consumers. Experts suggest that companies need to focus more on building their digital trust.
The pandemic and associated isolation have affected most countries and altered the time people spend online. The more time people spend online, the greater digital footprint they leave behind. And that footprint is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity in the market. Companies use personal data for various purposes, such as developing new products, individually analyzing customer needs, and precisely targeting marketing activities.
According to the EOS study, a quarter of Czechs (28%) spend nearly all their free time online, utilizing a variety of digital services and sharing their data with them, which are subsequently resold. However, compared to the European average, we are more reserved; in Europe, there are 38% of such heavy users, and 35% in the USA. In the Czech Republic, a trend is emerging similar to Germany and Slovenia, where consumers spend a lot of time on the internet and with digital services, but also appreciate time spent offline activities (50% of Czechs).
The more time people spend online, the more data they can share with service providers. Czechs indicated that they most commonly provide their contact details (44%) to other parties. Conversely, the least shared commodity is data concerning health and health status, shared by only one-tenth of Czech internet users.
The most common access points to the data "highway" are smart phones and computers. The possibility of constant connection allows for the simultaneous use of multiple devices. Czechs most commonly use desktop computers or laptops (88%), smartphones (82%), smart TVs (38%), tablets (36%), or smartwatches (15%) for this purpose.
"For companies, it's not so much about the time consumers spend online, but rather their willingness to share their data. To achieve that, they need to establish what is called digital trust. At EOS, we don't adhere to the motto of 'collecting data for the sake of data.' Instead, we adopt a minimalist approach, gathering data always for specific purposes," explains Vladimír Vachel, the executive of the EOS KSI debt collection agency. If companies can gain the trust of internet users, people will be more willing to share their data. This can benefit not only companies, allowing them to better understand their customers but also the internet users themselves.
About the Survey: What value do data have?
The extensive international study by EOS "What value do data have?" was conducted in collaboration with Kantar agency in the first half of 2020 on a representative sample from 18 years of age in seventeen countries under investigation. The sample consisted of 1,000 respondents from Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and a sample of 300 respondents from North Macedonia. Participants answered questions about how they handle their data, how they provide it to other parties, their trust in companies, and their readiness to sell data for rewards.
EOS KSI Czech Republic, s.r.o., is part of a multinational network of 50 companies operating in more than 25 countries specializing in financial services and all aspects of debt collection. The EOS Group was founded in 1974. EOS is a reliable partner, known for its high level of services. Significant banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, consumer credit providers, telecommunications companies, wholesalers, and retailers entrust their finances to the company. The group's headquarters are in Hamburg, Germany. Besides Germany, the EOS group is directly represented in Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Croatia, Ireland, Canada, Hungary, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, the United States, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, and indirectly in another 150 countries worldwide.