American Consumers Slow to Trust But Quicker to Forgive Security Breaches
Transatlantic businesses face greater short-term pain in the US but less long term retribution in the UK following a security breach, according to data from payment security business, PCI Pal. The research into consumer trust and spending habits was conducted during the last quarter of 2018 and pointed to some very clear cultural differences between the two countries.
According to the report, 62% of Americans report that they will stop spending with a brand for several months following a hack or breach, versus 44% of Brits. While less prone to react, Brits that do so are likely to hold onto negative perceptions for much longer than American consumers. 41% of British consumers and 21% of Americans reportedly never return to a brand after a hack. The research suggests that perception alone is enough to impact revenue and reputation -- almost a third (31%) of UK consumers stated that they spend less with brands they perceive to have insecure data practices, compared to just 18% of US survey respondents.