Survey: How Data Breaches Affect Consumers' Holiday Shopping

During the 2022 Holiday Shopping Season, US consumers will still be shopping digitally despite cyberattacks and fraud attempts being top of mind.

WASHINGTON – November 3, 2022 – Iris^® Powered by Generali, provider of a proprietary identity and cyber protection platform, today released the findings of its sixth annual Holiday Shopping ID Theft survey, an annual survey that polls consumers on their holiday shopping habits and the cybersecurity and identity theft concerns they have surrounding their shopping plans. The key findings of this year’s survey are listed below:

Concerns About Data Breaches and Identity Protection Trend Higher

• Seven in 10 respondents (71%) express concerns about their personal and financial data being at risk during the holiday shopping season.
  • Inflation remains the top concern for 69% of respondents, but data privacy remains the number two concern for nearly 40% of Americans.
    
    
• Four in five Americans (82%) say that past data breaches have impacted their willingness to shop with a specific retailer.
  • Two-thirds of respondents (67%) reported that data breaches would have some impact on their holiday shopping decisions, making them more hesitant to shop with a retailer affected by a data breach.
    
    
• Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed (65%) would feel safer with identity theft protection services baked into a retailer’s offering.
  • Seven in 10 Millennials (72%) are the most likely of any demographic to shop with a retailer that offers identity theft protection services.

Men and Millennials Most Likely to Spend Big this Holiday Season

• 30% of men and 39% of Millennial shoppers plan to spend over $1,000 respectively during the holiday season, considerably higher than all other demographics.
  
  
• Two in three shoppers (67%) will spend less than $1,000.
  
  
• Women (73%) are more likely to spend less than $1,000 when compared with men (60%) during this holiday season.

Online Shopping Remains the Retail King, But Over Half Will Shop at Brick-and-Mortar Stores

• Online shopping will account for 85% of consumer buying, remaining consistent with reports from 2021’s Holiday Shopping ID Theft survey.
  • 55% of respondents also reported that they plan to shop at brick-and-mortar stores, and in-person shopping numbers rival that of reports from 2017’s survey.
    
    
• Nine in 10 Gen Zers (89%), Millennials (91%), and Gen Xers (89%) plan to shop online compared to 79% of Baby Boomers.
  • Two-thirds of Millennials (68%) and six in 10 Gen Zers/Gen Xers (61%) plan to use a cell phone to shop online, compared with just 31% of Baby Boomers.
    
    
• One in three Americans (33%) trust e-retailers the most with their personal data this holiday shopping season, but nearly as many (29%) consider big box stores the most trustworthy.
  • Local small businesses (18%) rank third in trustworthiness, followed by department stores (11%).
  • Only 5% of American consumers trust social media platforms the most with their personal data this holiday shopping season.

Debit Cards Will be the Primary Method of Payment for Holiday Shopping

• Eight in 10 (88%) of respondents reported that they plan to pay with a credit or debit card.
  • Six in 10 respondents (60%) plan to use debit over credit cards, particularly Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X shoppers.
  • Nearly 40% of Millennial and Gen Z shoppers will take advantage of Buy Now, Pay Later apps, while over 40% of Baby Boomers and Gen X shoppers are more likely to use a credit card.

Paige Schaffer, CEO of Iris^® Powered by Generali, commented on the findings, “Consumers view protecting their personal and financial data as a top priority this holiday season, and with good reason. Online shopping will still account for the bulk of purchases during the fourth quarter, and recent data breaches of large retailers clearly still weigh heavily on shoppers’ minds. Consumers should be taking advantage of the most comprehensive identity theft protection and fraud protection services they can, as a large contingent of respondents (71%) expressed concerns about their personal and financial data being at risk during this holiday shopping season.”

Survey Methodology:

This survey was conducted via an Online CARAVAN^® survey conducted by Big Village among a sample of 1,009 adults ages 18 and older, live from October 10th through the 12th. Respondents were voluntary members of an online panel weighted by five variables – age, gender, geographic region, race, and education – using data from the U.S. Census Bureau to verify the accuracy of the results.

About Iris^® Powered by Generali:

Iris^® Powered by Generali is a B2B2C global identity and cyber protection company owned by the 190-year-old multinational insurance company, Generali, offering always-available identity protection and resolution experts (real people, 24/7/365) and tech-forward solutions that uncomplicate the protection process. Understanding that victimization has no geographical boundaries, we’ve got a solution no matter your customers’ coordinates.
To learn more about Iris’ cyber and identity theft protection offerings, please visit https://www.irisidentityprotection.com/

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