Consumer attitudes changed significantly during the pandemic, according to this Merkle survey.  While quality and price are still the most important factors in purchase decisions, their weight fell while customer service, personalization, and brand became more important.  Even more intriguing: consumers became more willing to share personal data in exchange for greater convenience and personalized experiences.

This Morning Consult report takes a more nuanced view of consumer motivations, finding that 40% had abandoned a brand due to quality, service, or pricing issues while 25% have dropped a brand due to privacy or social concerns.  Fewer than half (47%) assume companies are trustworthy until they do something wrong while 37% require a customer to earn their trust from the start.  Read on for fascinating differences by industry, country, and profession.

It’s deal-making time for generative AI model builders and publishers who can provide them with quality data.  Germany publishing giant Axel Springer is trading access to its data for Microsoft adtech, AI, and Azure hosting solutions.  Meanwhile, The Financial Times has struck a deal with OpenAI to license its content with attribution of summaries and quotes.