Ensuring Access To Retail Consumer Data – The Key Regulatory Issues

This article was originally published in Quatro Hive.

The expression "data is the new oil" has never been truer than it is today. In the digital age, all consumer-facing businesses benefit significantly from data about consumers, and it has never been easier to collect, classify, and analyze such data, whether online or from brick-and-mortar outlets.

This data allows businesses to know their consumers better than ever before – their ages, gender, locations, phone numbers, and spending patterns are all easily available. This allows businesses to differentiate products, plan production in line with consumption, and ensure their goods and/or services are priced to retain brand value while also being enticing. Consumer data analysis is also highly beneficial for targeted advertising programs, which provide substantial returns for investments in marketing.