Retail Data Security 2005 Benchmark Study

The Retail Data Security 2005 Benchmark Study was conducted between August and October 2005 by the Retail Systems Alert Group, and sponsored by 3Com and Ingrian Networks. The purpose of the study was to reveal how consumer-specific data is captured, used, and secured within retail companies today. The study also reviewed the technology and organizational issues related to the security and control of consumer-specific data. Analysis is based on a sample of 81 retailers, who responded to an online survey.

In an environment where price and convenience have long dominated retailers' value offerings to consumers, it is becoming increasingly important for retailers to emphasize service as a way to deliver meaningfully differentiated value. Consumers now have multi-channel options for their shopping needs with low price and availability as baseline expectations. On the other hand, consumers are increasingly concerned about their privacy. About 90 percent of the American public cares strongly or very strongly about privacy, according to some studies, and most Americans worry that they have "lost all control" of their personal information.

Best-in-class retailers' merchandising strategies are increasingly consumer-oriented and driven by sophisticated analytics that link consumers to purchase history. The strategies reveal buying preferences, as well as revenue and profit values, of individual consumers. These retailers take every interaction as an opportunity to reinforce their brand identities and to increase customer loyalty. However, because of the sensitivity of consumer-specific information and the risk associated with failure to adequately secure that information, retailers must go beyond past practices to ensure that customers' privacy is protected.

The Retail Data Security 2005 Benchmark Study seeks to measure the extent to which retailers are capturing and using consumer-specific data, and how they are ensuring the security of that information. This first-of-its-kind study is intended to help retailers compare their own performance in this key area to their peers.