WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2023 -- Iris Powered by Generali ("Iris"), provider of a proprietary identity and cyber protection platform, today released the findings of its seventh annual Holiday Shopping ID Theft survey, an annual survey that polls consumers on their holiday shopping habits as well as key cybersecurity and identity theft concerns they have related to their holiday shopping plans.
Paige Schaffer, CEO of Iris, commented on the findings, "According to our 2023 Holiday Shopping ID Theft survey findings, we've seen that concern about sensitive financial information being stolen while holiday shopping has continued to trend upward. So, it's not surprising that the percentage of shoppers who indicated they were concerned is at its highest level ever, especially when you consider inflation is the top concern because of the current economic environment. That said, retailers, consumer brands, and debit and credit card providers can offer peace of mind to more than half of holiday shoppers by making identity protection services available to them. Peace of mind that would be appreciated by the majority of GenZ and Millennial respondents who indicated they be interested in receiving identity theft protection as a holiday gift."
The key findings of this year's survey are listed below:
Concerns About Data Breaches and Identity Protection Hit Five-Year High
- Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents expressed concerns about their personal and financial data being at risk during the holiday shopping season. The number of respondents has continued to trend higher each year over the past five years – 2019 (67%), 2020 (66%), 2021 (67%), and 2022 (71%).
- Given the economic environment, inflation continues to be the top concern for 56% of respondents, but identity theft (44%) and scams (38%) are closing in.
- Most Americans (84%) say that past data breaches have impacted their willingness to shop with a specific retailer.
- Consumers were equally likely to express an impact on their willingness to do business with a breached retailer in 2017 (84%) and 2018 (83%). These levels dropped somewhat in 2019 (79%) and 2020 (78%) but crept upward in 2021 (81%) and 2022 (82%) and continued to rise in 2023.
- Close to three in five adults (58%) surveyed would be more likely to do business with a retailer, consumer brand, bank, or credit card provider if they were offered identity protection services.
- Millennials (68%), followed by Gen Z (64%), are more inclined than Gen X (55%) and Baby Boomers (53%) to do business with a retailer, consumer brand, bank, or credit card provider that offers identity protection services.
Men and Millennials Continue to Spend Big this Holiday Season
- Like 2022, 29% of men and 31% of Millennial shoppers surveyed plan to spend over $1,000 respectively during the holiday season, considerably higher than all other demographics, including 16% of women who say the same.
- Seven in ten (70%) shoppers surveyed will spend less than $1,000.
Online Shopping Remains the Top Way to Shop, But Half Still Plan to Pop Into Brick-and-Mortar Stores
- Online shopping will account for 83% of consumer buying this holiday season in at least one of the following ways:
- Using a desktop, laptop, or tablet (55%)
- Using a cell phone or mobile device (48%)
- and/or ordering online but picking up in a brick-and-mortar store (17%).
- Half (51%) of the respondents also reported that they would be shopping at brick-and-mortar stores, with intentions to shop in a brick-and-mortar store increasing significantly with age; Baby Boomers (66%) and Gen X (55%) are far more inclined than Millennials (41%) and Gen Z (30%) to do their holiday shopping this way.
- Two-thirds of Millennials (69%) will use a cell phone or mobile device, compared to 60% of Gen Z, 49% of Gen X, and just 25% of Baby Boomers.
- One in three Americans (36%) trust credit card providers the most with their personal data this holiday shopping season, with respondents considering e-retailers (18%) and big box stores (16%) the most trustworthy among retail channels.
- Local small businesses (13%) rank third in trustworthiness among retail channels, followed by department stores (6%).
- Only 4% trust social media platforms the most with their personal data this holiday shopping season.
Americans Are Picking Cards Over Cash This Holiday Season
- A majority (83%) of holiday shoppers reported that they will pay via a credit or debit card this season.
- Over one in four (28%) shoppers will use an app, including third-party payment apps such as Apply Pay, Google Wallet, and Venmo (20%) and/or Buy Now, Pay Later apps such as Klarna, Afterpay, and Sezzle (14%).
- Gen Z (58%), Millennials (59%), and Gen X (61%) are much more likely than Baby Boomers (47%) to pay by debit card, while credit cards are far more commonly used by Baby Boomers (63%) compared to Gen X (40%), Millennials (49%), and Gen Z (37%).
The Gift of ID Theft Protection Is Popular Among Younger Generations
- Overall interest levels in receiving identity theft protection as a holiday gift are highest among Gen Z (71%) and Millennials (70%), particularly compared to Baby Boomers (56%).
- Men (70%) are considerably more interested than women (58%) in receiving identity theft protection as a holiday gift, with 30% of men very interested compared to 20% of women.
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 16 through October 18. Respondents were voluntary members of an online panel that were 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.
