Research conducted by One Poll for the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) found that there has been minimal change to the number of consumers receiving unwanted calls and emails, despite the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May.

Forty-two per cent of people surveyed in the nationally representative sample said they had received communications from businesses they had not given permission to contact them in the six months since the new data rules came into force. This compares with 48% in the six months before GDPR.

Trust in firms to use consumer data responsibly has also hardly changed and remains very low. Only a quarter of people ( 24%) believe that businesses treat people’s personal data in an honest and transparent way, only slightly higher than the 18% when GDPR took effect.

However, trust is highest among the younger generations – 33% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 34% of 24- 35-year-olds trust businesses with their data, compared with only 17% of over 55s.

Just 47% of respondents said they know their rights as a consumer in relation to data protection. This has only risen five percentage points, from 43%, since the run-up to GDPR.

Chris Daly, chief executive of the CIM, said: “GDPR is the most important change in data privacy regulation in 20 years, but our research raises serious questions about its impact on consumer confidence. Data provides marketers with vital consumer insights. Its exchange also benefits consumers, who receive more relevant, even personalised, information but while advantages may be clear, trust in business to deliver, is not.

“GDPR has done well in empowering consumers to ask the right questions about their data use. The opportunity still remains for marketers to answer these, and to prove the benefit of data collection.”