News Release

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For release on April 26, 1999

NCR Barcelona Data Warehousing Conference

Six out of ten consumers are happy
for companies to use their personal data

- but they want more personal service and rewards in return -

Barcelona, Spain - Discounts, loyalty points and more personal service: this is the payoff European consumers want from companies they allow to use their personal and transaction data, according to a major pan-European survey commissioned by NCR Corporation.

More than half would say 'yes' to companies using this data if these benefits were realised. This is especially true with the younger generation.

• Spanish consumers are the biggest fans of these trade-offs with three out of four wanting a more personal service or offers of discounts or reward points based on personal data.
• The Netherlands are the exception - only one in four consumers want their transaction data used to offer them more personal service.
• Using data to improve service or offer rewards/discounts is most popular with the under 25s - especially in the UK and Spain with over 80 per cent in favour.

However, most companies still fail to make the most of this customer data in delivering relevant, targeted offers. Consumers receive about one unsolicited marketing offer - by mail, phone, or face-to-face - everyday of the working week, but nearly nine out of ten are of little or no interest. French consumers are the most heavily targeted - nearly a third (29 per cent) report ten or more of these unsolicited marketing offers every week.

"The message from consumers is clear: You can use my data, but I want some benefit," commented Mark Hurd, senior vice president of NCR's National Accounts Solutions Group. NCR provides data warehousing solutions that enable companies to capture and analyse information in order to better serve customers. "Businesses need to learn this lesson fast and become smarter in using transaction and other consumer information to build stronger, more profitable customer relationships."

Success at targeting consumer offers and services more effectively differs across industries. Supermarkets and banks lead the field - half the consumers felt these organisations target them with services of genuine interest, with supermarkets the number one in UK (67 per cent), Spain (67 per cent), Italy (63 per cent) and France (54 per cent) and banks doing best in Germany (78 per cent) and the Netherlands (67 per cent). Averaged across all six countries, these were followed by insurance companies at 44 per cent, telephone companies at 42 per cent, gas and electricity providers at 34 per cent and airline companies lagging behind with 18 per cent.

The research also highlighted the need to balance use of information with a respect for consumer privacy. A quarter of European consumers believe companies don't respect their privacy or give them a fair opportunity to opt in or out of their marketing programmes - with Spanish (32 per cent), British (28 per cent), and French (27 per cent) consumers most worried about this issue.

"Consumers are telling us that the privacy issue is a serious one," said Hurd. "It doesn't matter how much technology an organisation throws at implementing customer relationship management, it has to be a two way process. NCR data warehousing and consulting enables businesses to respect the rights of the individual and react positively to their demands. This way, organisations can better profit from a relationship-based approach to marketing."

Notes to Editors

• The research was conducted by BRMB on behalf of NCR Corporation in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain during April 1999.
• 5,884 consumers ( UK - 1013; France - 1003; Germany 1000; Italy 1011; Netherlands - 851, Spain - 1006) equally divided between men and women aged 14+ were contacted by telephone and asked a series of seven questions.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is in the business of transforming transactions into relationships. NCR is a recognised world leader in data warehousing solutions, ATMs, point-of-sale, high performance scanners, and support services for retail, financial and national accounts markets.

NCR's business solutions are built on the foundation of the company's long-established industry knowledge and consulting expertise, value-adding software, global consumer support services, a complete line of consumable and media products, and world-leading hardware technology. More information about NCR and its products may be found on the World Wide Web at www.ncr.com