Personal privacy as a positive experience of shopping: an illustration through the case of online grocery shopping

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Purpose: This paper aims to demonstrate the need for an improved understanding of the opportunities offered by privacy online. This is contextualized in the case of supermarket purchases, and in particular food, often described as an intimate and personal choice. In the case of grocery shopping, the “intimacy” may be at the household level between members or/and between e-grocers’ food offerings, and their other “non-food” related services Methodology/Approach: This paper integrates and synthesizes research from retailing and consumer behaviour in order to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the value of positive privacy. This is supported by 39 in-depth interviews of e-grocery shoppers in Portsmouth area (UK). Findings: This paper offers a demonstration that positive privacy can be used as a driver for growth in the e-grocery context. Three meta-themes requiring different approaches to privacy are uncovered. Positive privacy is dynamic, and contextual both from a consumer/household and product/e-grocery brands Research limitations/implications: Our research provided a practical framework for both e-retailers and policy makers on how the next generation of online services could be designed. This paper advocates the building of long term sustainable relationship through sharing, offering, and exchange of information rather than pure technological chasing of data. Originality/value: A consumer centred bottom-up approach is employed demonstrating the value of two way dialogues with consumers on sensitive issues. E-grocery is used as an illustration that involves regular re-purchase of a basket of staple goods over a long period of time where privacy becomes a latent long term concern.