College of Business

Empirical study shows U.S. online shoppers significantly identify third-party advertisers and data brokers as separate agents and display different attitudes toward sharing their PI in the context of online retailing. Applying Westins’ Privacy Segmentation Index, the results showed that enrollment in multiple loyalty programs significantly predicts Privacy Pragmatic shoppers' willingness to share personal information, while consumer commitment significantly increases both the Privacy Unconcerned and Pragmatist groups’ willingness to share. Conversely, this is not the case for Privacy Fundamentalists. Age and gender also played important roles in predicting consumers’ willingness to share their PI with advertisers and data brokers.