Personalization & Empathy

in Customer Experience
Multinational Consumer Survey
June 2020
2020 The Genesys Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research
Survey (www.wakefieldresearch.com) between March 30 and April 3, 2020,
Methodology using an email invitation and an online survey.

• 5,000 adults ages 18+

• 1,000 in the U.S.
• 800 each in Australia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the U.K.

Confidence level for all surveys is 95%.

The margin of error:
+/- 1.4% = global audience
+/- 3.1% = U.S. audience only
+/- 3.5% = Australia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, U.K. (each)
Personal
Data 91% of consumers are concerned about companies
Privacy abusing their personal data

• Very concerned – 32%

• Somewhat concerned – 59%

• Not concerned at all – 9%

Additionally, nearly half of the people surveyed have become

more concerned over the last 5 years about abuse of their
personal, private data
Who Do You Trust? Organizations or institutions people trust the most
with their personal data

48% Banks or other financial services providers 7% Smart home technology companies

40% Health care providers 6% Restaurant & hospitality providers,

including hotels

39% Government agencies

6% Retailers (both online & brick-and-
mortar)

24% Health insurance companies

5% Social media companies

11% Home & auto insurance companies 4% Genealogy companies

10% Retailers (online) 3% Uber, Lyft, or other personal

transportation companies

9% Charitable causes 3% Cryptocurrency providers

8% Airlines
Not So Fast! Organizations or institutions people trust the least
with their personal data

48% Social media companies 13% Restaurant & hospitality

providers, including hotels

23% Cryptocurrency providers 13% Government agencies

23% Smart home technology companies 10% Charitable causes

19% Uber, Lyft, or other personal

transportation providers 9% Home & auto insurance companies

19% Retailers (online) 8% Banks or other financial services

providers

17% Retailers (both online & brick-and-

mortar)
7% Health insurance companies

14% Genealogy companies

5% Health care providers

5% Airlines
Which of the following benefits would be of most
value in exchange for use of personal data?
39% Monetary compensation for use of data

20% Promotion incentives and discounts based on my interests

16% Convenience and speed in using their service

14% More responsive customer service and support

11% Creation of new services and products that will appeal to me

 Are you comfortable if an IoT device shares your data?

[ Smoke detectors that share unusual data readings with local fire department 38%
[ Home security-related products that share suspicious data with local police 34%
[ External cameras that share video with local police after crime reports in your neighborhood 31%
[ Wearable devices (Fitbit/Apple Watch) that share unusual medical data with health providers 26%
[ In-home cameras that share suspicious video with local police 24%
[ Voice assistants (Alexa/Google Home) that share suspicious audio with emergency responders 23%
[ DNA analysis providers (23andMe/AncestryDNA) that share your data with medical researchers 17%
Personalization
More! Companies know what I like
A majority of survey respondents believe customer service has become
more personalized in the last five years through the use of technology,
but there is still a lot of room for improvement

71%

Much more personalized = 21%

Somewhat more personalized = 50%
Somewhat less personalized = 18%
Much less personalized = 11%
Personalization
Generations Customer service is tailored to ME
Of those surveyed, generational differences emerged as to who
believes there is more personalization of customer experiences through
technology today versus five years ago

76% 76% 69% 66%

Millennials Gen Zers Gen Xers Boomers
Personalization
Technology is offering unique customer experiences
Geographies
Germany and the U.K. are the most likely to say that On the flip side, a third of those in Japan and New
customer service has become more personalized in Zealand think service has become less personalized
the past five years

Germany 77% 23%

U.K. 75% 25%

U.S. 70% 30%

Australia 70% 30%

New Zealand 67% 33%

Japan 66% 34%

Empathy Nearly half of consumers say the companies they regularly do business
We’re Listening with don't show them enough empathy when delivering customer service

Yes, No,
consumers consumers
think 52%
52% don’t think 48%
48%
companies companies
show enough show enough
empathy empathy
Empathy
Generations • Empathy across ages
• Consumers of different ages expect different levels of empathy
•
• A majority of Gen Zers believe businesses work to resolve customer
service issues with empathy, while Boomers would like a little more
understanding

63% 56% 50% 47%

Gen Zers Slightly more Only half of Even fewer

than half of Gen Xers Boomers
Millennials
Empathy
Geographies Where companies feel your pain

Geographically, U.S. respondents were the most likely On the flip side, in Germany and Japan, less than half
to say they experience empathy from their service said the businesses they deal with feel their pain
providers

U.S. 42%

New Zealand 43%

U.K. 44%
U.S. 58%
Australia 48%
New Zealand 57%
Germany 53%
U.K. 56%
Japan 60%
Australia 52%

Germany 47%

Japan 40%
Thanks
For additional information, visit www.genesys.com

Contact Shaunna Morgan

+1 317.493.4241
shaunna.morgan@genesys.com

North America: +1 408.395.5500

genesys@sterlingpr.com

Press and analysts may request a copy

of each country’s survey findings as
well as the multinational results