This perceived value rises to £200 when a customer shares it with a company they are unfamiliar with, according to the Future of Digital Trust, a study conducted by Orange.

These findings represent the second stage of Orange’s research into consumer attitudes relating to businesses use of their personal data. On average, consumers attribute a value of around £13 to an individual piece of data that they are willing to share with a brand they already know. This value increases to around £15 if they have not dealt with the organisation previously.

Other findings were:

• 80% of respondents knew that their personal data has a value for companies, with 78% agreeing that this value increases the closer they match a brand’s ideal customer demographic
• 67% of respondents believed organisations benefit the most from the sharing of data
• 77% of respondents felt it was ‘very important’ or ‘critical’ for mobile operators to inform them of how their data is being used

“The research clearly demonstrates that consumers are acutely aware that the information a company holds about them has a value to that brand,” says Daniel Gurrola, vice president of Business Vision at Orange.

“As the perceived value that consumers place on their data can change, depending on the relationship they hold with the organisation, companies must consider not only how they convey what the customer gets in return for this data exchange, but precisely how the data is being used, and where in order to build that essential trust.”