The GDPR: A Consumer Perspective report was commissioned jointly by the DMA and Acxiom to explore the attitudes of UK consumers towards data exchange and GDPR – conducted prior to the recent news stories.

The research found that more than half of people in the UK ( 57%) prefer to receive some form of personalised marketing from companies. Most ( 62%) also understand the need for companies to access their data to help stop them receiving marketing that is not relevant to them.

Even among those shoppers that don’t like marketing at all, 40% are comfortable with sharing data to avoid irrelevant offers or recommendations.

Rachel Aldighieri, managing director at the DMA, said: “At its heart, GDPR is about transparency and honesty in how organisations collect and use customers’ data. This is essential to building and maintaining trust between businesses and consumers.

“The new laws offer an opportunity for organisations to put the consumer front and centre of their company’s culture. An essential part of that is talking to customers about their data and how the new laws benefit them in a way that they can understand.”