Nobody wants to walk into a store where the clerks follow your every move and note each item that catches your attention. At first blush, it seems that such standoffishness stems from the desire to be left alone to contemplate the merchandise. Frankly, I don't want the car salesman to know that I've already decided to buy a car and that this afternoon is the only time I have to do so. I don't want the saleswoman in the antique store to know that I'm a meerschaum pipe fanatic. My goal is to sustain the illusion of being a savvy, aloof buyer for as long as possible.
Bargaining is much more difficult when sellers know they have a live one on their hands.
Furthermore, customers worry that personal information collected for one reason will be used by someone else for another reason entirely. And that someone else may not be someone they want to hear from. The fact is, a surfer's every move can be recorded. But that doesn't automatically turn site owners into nefarious violators of privacy. The first and foremost ETrust rule is disclosure.