As consumers are increasingly shopping beyond the boundaries of their home countries, retailers and brands are faced with not only meeting differentiated needs and personalized preferences specific to different markets, but also complying with a widening set of data protection requirements.
Data protection laws are expanding globally, according to Consumers International.org, which currently cites more than 100 countries around the world which now have data protection laws in place. Even in the U.S., the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), slated to go into effect on January 1st of 2020, mandates (similar to GDPR) that companies gather consent from their consumer base when it comes to collecting and using data.
Our own customers, both in the U.S. and those that serve consumers overseas, have expressed interest in ensuring that the data we gather are GDPR compliant (they are, and SOC-2 compliant, too). But they’ve also expressed concerns about whether this new “compliant” version of consumer data would continue to serve as a relevant guide for decisions on consumer product preferences, pricing and more.