Online data privacy as a driving factor for customer loyalty : A qualitative study

Sammanfattning: In recent years, there has been an increase in the focus on online data privacy by companies worldwide. Data has become an increasingly valuable resource for companies to use in their marketing efforts. As the company use of data increases, more and more online users are becoming aware of problems with online data privacy and the integrity of their data. The proper balance between protecting the integrity of the users and the value of data collection is difficult to predict, as seen with recent scandals where tech giants have been accused of abusing their user’s data in such a way that it violates their personal integrity. A company that has seen media attention for their battle for online data privacy is Apple, where they have put an emphasis on the data privacy in their marketing. But how does this new frontier of privacy affect the loyalty of customers? The purpose of this thesis is to explore how a focus on online data privacy is a driving factor in customer. The study was conducted using an exploratory approach to better understand the connection between online data privacy and customer loyalty, and to examine its relationship. The research was conducted through qualitative semi-structured interviews where the respondents were Swedish university students aged between 20 – 29 years old who owned at least one Apple product. The answers were then compared and analysed using a theoretical framework based on existing online data privacy and customer loyalty literature. As a conclusion of the thesis, the empirical data suggests that a focus on online data privacy is not a driving factor for customer loyalty, and that consumers are unaware of the focus to protect their privacy online. Customers do not seem to view online data privacy as a field of importance to them when making a purchase decision, their loyalty may instead be influenced more by other criteria.