Key findings:
- Nearly two-thirds (65%) of UK adults have heard about the recent ASOS cyber security incident once initial news had broken.
- TV news (35%) and news websites or apps (33%) are the most commonly cited sources of information about the episode.
- Nearly half (46%) of UK adults say they are less trusting of ASOS, while 41% feel uncomfortable using the retailer.
- Around 14% feel reassured by ASOS's initial response, with 51% want to know more about how the incident occurred.
- More than two-fifths (42%) say the incident has made them less likely to use ASOS in future, while 45% report no change.
Last week, ASOS revealed a cyber security incident in which an unauthorised party gained access to some customer information – including names and contact details.
New YouGov research reveals if people in the UK know of the data breach post announcement on 6 October, their reactions to it and its potential impact on trust and future shopping intentions.
How many UK adults know about the ASOS cyber security incident?
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of UK adults have heard about the incident. While 3% say they were directly affected by the data breach, 45% say they are aware of it but don’t know the details and one in six (17%) know quite a lot but were not affected directly by it.
A third (33%) have not heard anything about the situation.
Younger adults are more likely to know about ASOS’s data breach. Among 18-24-year-olds, a quarter (26%) know quite a lot about what happened, including 7% who were affected by it. This compares with 18% of those aged 55 and over, of whom just 1% report being impacted by it.
Where did UK consumers hear about the ASOS cyber security incident?
The research finds that among those who were aware of the incident, the two main ways they heard about it were via TV news (35%) and news websites or apps (33%), notably more than those who found out through social media (21%).
However, the pattern differs by age, with social media being the place most (51%) 18-24-year-olds found out about it. The same is true of 39% of those aged 25-34.
In contrast, half (50%) of those aged 55 and over first heard about it through TV news, while 31% found out about the incident via news websites or apps.
Direct communication from ASOS accounted for a smaller share, with 4% of those who knew about the data breach mentioning app notifications and the same proportion (4%) saying they heard through emails or other messages from the retailer.
How has the ASOS cyber security incident affected consumer trust?
YouGov’s data shows that once all the respondents were made aware of the data breach incident, more than half (56%) of UK adults are concerned about the incident, with the same proportion worried about the security of their own personal information.
These concerns extend to perceptions of the retailer. Nearly half (46%) now are less trusting of ASOS, while 41% feel uncomfortable using the brand following the incident.
Reactions are particularly pronounced among 25-34-year-olds. More than three in five worry about the security of their personal information (64%) and the incident itself (63%). A majority (54%) of this age group also report now having less trust in ASOS, compared with 41% of those aged 55 and over.
The research finds that 14% of UK adults feel reassured by ASOS's response, while 30% do not (with 56% being on the fence about the brand’s reaction).
There is also demand for further information, with half (51%) of UK adults wanting to know more from ASOS about how the incident occurred. This rises to 65% of 25-34-year-olds and 63% among those aged 18-24.
How has the ASOS cyber security incident affected future shopping intentions?
Over two in five (42%) UK adults say the incident has made them less likely to use ASOS in future as a result of this incident. However, around the same proportion (45%) say their likelihood of shopping with the retailer remains unchanged, while 3% say they are more likely to use it.
Younger age groups are more likely to report a negative impact on future shopping intentions. Nearing half (48%) of 25-34-year-olds say they are now less likely to use ASOS, with 40-42% of all other age group reporting the same.
Overall, while shopping intentions remain unchanged for nearly half of UK adults, the findings reveal initial concerns about data security, and impact on levels of trust and a reluctance among some consumers to use ASOS in future. Whether these initial reactions lead to lasting changes in shopping behaviour remains to be seen.
Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online between 7 to 9 October 2026, with a nationally representative sample of 4,746 adults (aged 18+ years) in the United Kingdom, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education, region and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain (18 years or older) and reflect the latest ONS population estimates.
Image: Getty Images
