The 45- to 54-year-old age group is most likely to issue a request, with 21% thinking they will active their new rights in the first month. The likelihood of submitting a request drops to 13% in the 18- to 24-year-old age category.

The most popular GDPR rights were the right to access personal data ( 64%), the right to erasure ( 62%) and the right to rectification ( 59%).

Charles Senabulya, vice-president and country manager for SAS UK & Ireland, said: “Personal data is often stored in thousands of databases and organisations will need to find, evaluate and categorise every piece of data relating to each customer to ensure compliance.”

“Overcoming this challenge presents an opportunity for organisations as they form a new type of relationship with their customers that is bound by integrity, understanding and respect for their individual choices. We are entering a new data era that requires a firm grip of customer data.”

The SAS survey by OnePoll was of 2000 UK consumers between 24 and 26 May.