You must remember this...

When it comes to how much info websites ask for and remember about consumers, it’s a fine line between helpful and creepy. But erring on the side of the blank slate may be a mistake, according to the July 2009 American Pulse survey, conducted by BIGresearch on behalf of Shop.org.

Most consumers wants sites to remember their language preference, automatic log in, and recognize what country the shopper is in. (In all three cases, women found it more helpful than men.)

When it comes to selecting items and info, the person most shoppers trust is themselves: Many want to be shown items they left in their cart the last time they were on the site, alerted to new items or events based on preferences they specified previously, reminded of events that they registered and reminded of items they looked at the last time they visited that site. Interestingly, younger consumers were more likely to want to be reminded of leftover cart items. Maybe they should call it a Junior Moment?

In contrast, only about a third of consumers said that they found it helpful for retailers to show them items that complement items that they’ve bought in the past. The same for being greeted by name. (Personally I have always found that a little too close to 2001’s “I’m sorry, Dave.”)