Construction and validation of the in-store privacy preference scale

•A four-item in-store privacy preference (ISPP) scale is developed and validated.•In-store privacy preference is conceptualized as a situational variable.•The measure is distinct from other privacy-related constructs and traits.•The measure is shown to be predictive of several important shopping outcomes.

Consumer privacy issues continue to influence marketing practice. While protection from undue use of personal information draws significant attention, concerns related to undesired visibility of consumer activity in the shopping space has received very little. In fact any empirical measure of this is lacking, despite a growing body of literature in the realm of shopping related consumer embarrassment and practices used by consumers to privatize shopping behavior. To close this gap, this paper develops a self-report scale to measure in-store privacy preference (ISPP), a situational variable that addresses consumer desires to avoid shopping related self-disclosure. The paper reports on data collected from over 1000 adult consumers to develop and validate a four-item measure of ISPP. The measure is shown to predict several potential outcomes related to embarrassing or uncomfortable shopping experiences. Applications for the scale's use and implications for managers are discussed.