Do I Lose my Privacy for a Better Service? Investigating the Interplay between Big Data Analytics and Privacy Loss from Young Consumers' Perspective

The large usage of digital technologies has largely increased the amount of data that companies can collect, store and use about consumers. However, issues related to the ethical management of those data dramatically emerge. Indeed, consumers raised some doubts about the extent to which the big data analytics provide benefits not only for retailers, while their privacy loss might occur. This study aims at understanding the extent to which consumers believe that retailers' usage of big data analytics involves risks for their privacy, while identifying the main factors influencing consumers towards this belief. To this end, the research employs a qualitative approach with 26 in-depth interviews with young consumers (Generation Z), collected in London (UK) in July 2019. From the analysis, three main standpoints emerge: (1) the influence of social environment, (2) the information about retailers' usage of data and (3) the characteristics of the data collected. Implications for theory and practice are further discussed.