As the big-spending holiday season approaches, shoppers are apprehensive about the rise in credit card breaches at major retailers and adjusting their shopping behavior accordingly. According to a new survey from TheStreet (NASDAQ: TST) conducted by GfK1, two thirds of them are concerned that their credit card and personal information will be stolen whether they shop online or in stores.
TheStreet asked consumers about their feelings regarding recent breaches as well as how they have adapted their shopping behavior and found that:
66% of consumers are concerned that their information will be stolen.
Men are more apprehensive than women with 71% of men versus 61% of women saying that they were concerned.
Age groups revealed a trend in how consumers are dealing with those concerns: 61% of 18- to 24-year-olds versus 49% of those 65 and older said that they would continue to shop in stores that have had security breaches but that they would use cash instead.
58% of men versus 47% of women would continue shopping in stores with data breaches but would use cash instead.
The survey also asked if people would feel more comfortable paying for items with their phone using "digital wallets" instead of a credit card and found that:
20% of consumers would feel more comfortable.
23% of women versus 17% of men would feel more comfortable.
Those ages 18-24 were more comfortable with the idea with 28% saying that they would feel more comfortable using digital wallets versus only 9% of those 65 and older.
"Ultimately, the paranoia, the brouhaha, the face-palming and the consumer fears are all irrational," said Ross Kenneth Urken, Personal Finance Editor for TheStreet. "There's no need to flock to cash-only camp. Americans are clearly concerned about using the plastic, instead, they should just be extra vigilant about checking their credit card accounts online and pulling their free annual credit report to verify no one has made any fraudulent accounts in their name."
