According to a survey by CreditCards.com, 45 percent of consumers would definitely or probably avoid one of their regular stores over the holidays if that retailer had experienced a data breach.
Sixteen percent said they definitely would not return to a retailer if the store had been hacked and 29 percent said they probably would not shop at such stores. Forty-eight percent said security breaches would make them more likely to pay with cash.
Home Depot, Michaels, Neiman Marcus, Staples, Kmart, Albertsons, Dairy Queen, Jimmy John's, and P.F. Chang's have all seen their customers' credit and debit cards compromised. These followed the widely covered breach last holiday season at Target.
Although much depends on whether the shopper experienced fraudulent charges or identity theft, the survey suggests the impact of a breach could extend to lost revenue. But CreditCards.com noted that many factors go into the where-to-shop decision, including the lack of another nearby sale, a shopper's habit and sales incentives.
"I think there is the possibility that it could make people nervous, but there are enough things that go into the decision of where to buy and data breaches may not rank as 1 or 1a on that list," Matt Schulz, senior analyst CreditCards.com told Cedar Valley Business. "If it is 1 or 1a, we will see a significant impact. If not, it may not be quite as much as we might think."
On the positive side, the survey found that only 31 percent of those in households earning $75,000 or more annually said they would definitely or probably avoid retailers who experienced a data breach, compared to 56 percent of those in households earning less than $30,000 a year. College graduates, younger consumers and women were also seen as less apprehensive.
Princeton Survey Research Associates International conducted the survey of 865 randomly selected American adults earlier this month.
- Poll: Nearly half of cardholders likely to avoid stores hit by data breaches - creditcards.com
- Data breaches have shoppers nervous, survey says - Cedar Valley Business
- Many Americans Say They Will Avoid Breached Retailers, Study Shows - eweek
- Are data breaches creating smarter consumers? - The Washington Post