The Cookie Apocalypse precipitates the end of Third Party Cookies, leaving many eCommerce in the lurch. Much has been said about the possible solutions, but above all, about the other existing ways to capture user information, such as Second, First and Zero Party Data.
In today’s article we will focus on the last one: Zero Party Data. This trend will mark a before and after in eCommerce strategies to capture information. But also for the users themselves, who will benefit much more than before.
Do you want to know what the future of data will be in the next two, three or four years?
Let’s get into it!
What is Zero Party Data?
Zero Party Data goes one step further than First Party Data. It is defined as data that users proactively provide us with, meaning that they provide that data voluntarily and consciously.
At all times, users know that they are giving us this data so that we can use it to improve their experience.
This data can be: the user’s purchase intention, their personal information, or even the relationship the user wants to have with the brand, among many others.
Differences between Zero Party Data and First Party Data
It’s possible that right now you are a little confused about what is one or the other. Don’t worry, it was the same for us.
There’s a fine line that separates the two terms:
First Party Data
This way of capturing information usually works as follows: A user arrives at a website or platform. There, he or she finds the terms and conditions or a cookie policy, which the user must accept in order to proceed.
It’s a kind of tacit consent where the user is interested in continuing browsing and thinks: “Leave me alone, I accept whatever you tell me and that’s it”.
Although from the brand’s point of view we have already achieved our goal and we have obtained their information, this is not the way to obtain the best possible information.
Zero Party Data
Zero Party Data works differently. In Zero Party Data the user wants to take advantage of the data he provides you with. Let’s explain it with an example to make it easier to understand:
Imagine we have a bicycle eCommerce. In our platform we have a configurator. Then, depending on the interests of our user we are going to offer him some things or others, even discounts.
Then, how can we know their interests? We can ask them in different ways: some of them can be with forms or quizzes.
We can say to the user: “Listen, if you tell me your size, your age, your weight, whether you live in a city or in the countryside, etc., I will be able to personalize this information about bicycles. But I’ll also be able to offer you a special discount, because with all this information I can be more effective”.
In this case, the perfectly informed user would be deciding for himself to give you this information, which also provides a direct benefit. But the uses of Zero Party Data don’t stop here and can even go further.
Advantages for the future
One of the most important advantages of Zero Party Data in the current digital context is that at no time can an external regulatory body, neither the European Union, nor Google or anyone else, come to tell you that it’s forbidden to take this data.
Because the data are provided by the users, so no one can take them away from you. Only the user himself always has the right to rectify or delete such information.
In addition, Zero Party Data will allow much better and much more defined segmentations. This has a huge advantage when it comes to advertising campaigns, sending mails or messages, etc., since we will be able to do it with the express permission and desire of our users.
Other possibilities of Zero Party Data
There are those who argue that with Zero Party Data strategies the users themselves could make an economic profit after sharing their information.
It would work as follows: A user would give his personal information about all kinds of things to a provider. Then, this provider would pay an amount of money to the user. But, only when advertisers use the information to search for him.
This system would be beneficial for everyone, since the user would benefit from having shared such information. Information that until now they didn’t benefit from because of First, Second and Third Party Data solutions. And the advertiser would be able to target more precisely, and even if he had to pay a little more, advertising would be more profitable.
However, we are reluctant with this type of strategies, since the quality of such information should be determined. But also, that users don’t give “false” information just to obtain an economic benefit.
Conclusions
- Zero Party Data means that users provide information voluntarily and consciously.
- Forms and quizzes are some of the tools to ask for this information.
- Zero Party Data will offer several advantages: No regulatory body will be able to prohibit the collection of this data, and the segmentation for advertising campaigns will be more accurate.
That’s all for today! We hope you liked it.
Thank you very much for reading us as always.
See you in the next post 🙂
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