{"id":22409,"date":"2023-12-28T15:31:55","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T13:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/library\/a-winning-first-party-data-strategy-for-ecommerce"},"modified":"2024-07-02T20:39:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T20:39:51","slug":"the-importance-of-zero-party-and-first-party-data-to-your-e-commerce-personalization-strategy","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/the-importance-of-zero-party-and-first-party-data-to-your-e-commerce-personalization-strategy","title":{"rendered":"A Winning First-Party Data Strategy for Ecommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Winning in digital commerce in today&#8217;s uber competitive online marketplace starts with having a top notch ecommerce data strategy that can lead to offering personalized commerce experiences for your loyal customers. Ensuring that your marketing strategy is a data-driven strategy is arguably the most important step in optimizing your marketing efforts for your ecommerce business.<\/p>\n<p>One of the challenges of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/2019\/07\/digital-commerce-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ecommerce personalization<\/a>\u00a0is how many different things it can mean to different people, teams, and organizations. While true ecommerce personalization will always be rooted in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/what-is-commerce-data-and-why-is-it-important-to-e-commerce-personalization\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">commerce data<\/a>, how companies actually execute their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/3-personalization-strategies-from-bloomreach-and-kps\">personalization strategies<\/a> will depend on where their customers are in the buyer journey.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you have a first-time visitor on your website, your personalization goal should be to deliver the best baseline experience that is technologically possible. This can include using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/products\/engagement\/experiments-ab-testing\">A\/B testing<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/2019\/05\/what-is-customer-experience\">a search engine<\/a> that delivers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/library\/guides\/the-ultimate-guide-to-search-relevance-2\">relevant results<\/a>, and page speed optimization to improve your new visit conversion rate and your cart completion rate.<\/p>\n<p>On the opposite side of the spectrum, you have your most loyal customers who are visiting your website regularly. They may use the login feature, or make multiple purchases in a short period of time. Your company has compliantly collected so much customer data on these consumers that you can essentially create a one-to-one personalized experience for them online.<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/SoPXRhhKmDA?start=1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Those two examples describe scenarios commonly found in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/digital-commerce-explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">digital commerce<\/a>\u00a0customer journeys. There are dozens of different stops along the way on these journeys and different spots that customers find themselves in relation to how they view your brand. Ecommerce personalization strategies are beneficial every step of the way \u2014 but they must be tailored to customer behavior and the customer journey to truly be effective.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/zero-party-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Third-party data<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 or aggregate data that the company does not directly collect from the customer\u00a0\u2014 used to be a massive help with this and with ecommerce personalization in general. But compliance issues with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other governing compliance regulations have made this far more difficult to use to optimize marketing campaigns.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/data-privacy-is-a-growing-concern-for-more-consumers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">As consumers voice more concerns around data privacy<\/a>, it\u2019s time for companies to make more of an investment into collecting zero-party and first-party data rather than continuing to rely on third-party data. This investment will allow ecommerce businesses to give consumers the option to reveal data about themselves in return for value \u2014 an exchange that is optimal for both parties.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/visit.bloomreach.com\/personalization-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/personalization-guide-banner.png\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>A Winning Ecommerce Data Strategy Includes Zero-Party and First-Party Data<\/h2>\n<p>The key difference and benefit with zero-party and first-party is how explicit you are about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/customer-data-management\">collecting customer data<\/a> and specifically what is shared with the customer when you do so.<\/p>\n<h3>Zero-Party Data<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/importance-of-zero-party-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zero-party data<\/a>\u00a0is data that a customer intentionally and proactively shares with your company. It can include preference center data, purchase intentions, personal contents, how an individual wants to be contacted or recognized by a brand, and so much more.<\/p>\n<p>One of the biggest advantages of zero-party data is that it is usually accurate. This is because it is provided by the customer directly and companies don\u2019t have to question the source. Since the data is freely given, there are no concerns regarding compliance about how these data points were collected.<\/p>\n<p>A challenge for many companies in today\u2019s market is the aforementioned value exchange that comes hand-in-hand with collecting zero-party data. Many consumers feel that if they are giving you their data, they should be receiving something in return.<\/p>\n<p>For some, even something like a 10% off voucher to redeem at checkout next time might be enough. But others have higher expectations \u2014 that zero-party data will lead to a truly personalized experience online or other delightful business operations with your brand.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/case-studies\/myjewellery-gets-creative-with-zero-party-data-and-bloomreach-engagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">My Jewellery<\/a>, a Bloomreach customer and clothing jewelry retailer in The Netherlands, took collecting zero-party data to the next level. The company created\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.my-jewellery.com\/nl-nl\/stijlprofiel-test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the style profile test<\/a>\u00a0with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/products\/engagement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bloomreach Engagement<\/a>\u00a0to collect data from customers in a fun and innovative way.<\/p>\n<p>Customers decide whether or not they like an item that is being shown to them in a quiz-style manner by clicking either the heart or the X on the screen. After a series of products, My Jewellery is able to create a personalized style profile for customers and sends it to them via a Bloomreach Engagement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/products\/engagement\/email-marketing\">email campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/my-jewellery-3.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is just one of many interactive ways that companies are collecting zero-party data in an attempt to phase out the reliance on third-party data.<\/p>\n<h3>First-Party Data<\/h3>\n<p>First-party data is defined as information that a company collects directly via its own channels and sources. These channels include mobile apps, websites, social media, SMS, email, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Since you are collecting this data yourself, it obviously makes the data unique, as no other company is able to collect these specific data points. Your company has a competitive advantage in this regard. Reliability is also greater here because you know the source where this data came from and have control over compliance.<\/p>\n<p>One drawback here \u2014 is there ever enough first-party data? It seems every company wishes it had more. It takes time to collect first-party data and you\u2019re also starting from scratch with new customers. But a lack of first-party data doesn\u2019t necessarily have to prevent companies from personalizing experiences for customers.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best ecommerce personalization strategies your company can employ with first-party data is real-time product recommendations.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/case-studies\/yves-rocher-upgrades-personalization-with-bloomreachs-real-time-product-recommendations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bloomreach customer Yves Rocher upgraded its personalization efforts<\/a>\u00a0this way and increased its purchase rate by 11x on product recommendations in comparison to a more generic \u201ctop-seller\u201d recommendation.<\/p>\n<p>Yves Rocher wanted to provide the most personalized product recommendations in the ecommerce industry to both returning customers and potential customers. With Bloomreach Engagement, the company could even personalize product recommendations for anonymous guests (as long as they accepted cookie tracking).<\/p>\n<p>Being able to personalize product recommendations for all of your customers is a massive advantage, and Bloomreach Engagement can do this even with only a little bit of first-party data.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1080x1080px-yves-rocher-qoute-img-oco-1-1.png\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Personalize Content for Customers Like You\u2019re Old Friends<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/3663775\/facebook-likes-personality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Time.com recently released an article<\/a>\u00a0that stated that Facebook knew its users better than their friends did. How? Simply from the data provided by Facebook users.<\/p>\n<p>The average user studied by Time had 227 likes on Facebook \u2014 and this was enough information for a computer to be a better predictor of personality than this user\u2019s friends would be.<\/p>\n<p>It took just 10 likes for the computer to outperform a work colleague, 70 to do better than a friend, and 150 to beat a family member.<\/p>\n<p>Now imagine if your company could collect data points to craft an ecommerce data strategy to personalize the customer experience in a similar way. If you could take in first-party data in real time and personalize <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/products\/discovery\/personalized-search\">search experiences<\/a> and product recommendations, how many more sales could your company make?<\/p>\n<p>The combination of Bloomreach Engagement and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/case-studies\/jenson-usa-sees-increased-rpv-with-bloomreach-engagement-and-discovery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bloomreach Discovery<\/a>\u00a0did just that for Jenson USA, America\u2019s leading online bicycle retailer.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/case-studies\/jenson-usa-sees-increased-rpv-with-bloomreach-engagement-and-discovery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jenson USA increased revenue per visitor (RPV) by 8.5%<\/a>\u00a0when optimizing search results based on understanding which customer segment a visitor belongs to.<\/p>\n<p>Jenson USA sharpened its focus on ecommerce personalization and moved away from manual data analyses and unscalable personalization tactics. It also concentrated on the differences between different customer segments (mountain bikers, road bikers, etc.). Bloomreach now allows Jenson USA to provide a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/the-importance-personalized-search\">personalized search<\/a> experience based on these customer segments.<\/p>\n<h2><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/1080x1080px-quote-image-jenson-1.jpg\" \/><\/h2>\n<h2>Bloomreach is the Ecommerce Personalization Leader<\/h2>\n<p>Whether it\u2019s quizzes for customers to complete, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/blog\/why-product-recommendations-are-key-to-winning-with-e-commerce-personalization\">personalized product recommendations<\/a>, or personalized search, Bloomreach drives companies\u2019 ecommerce personalization efforts with our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Commerce Experience Cloud<\/a>. Our Engagement, Discovery, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/products\/content\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Content<\/a>\u00a0pillars use machine learning to allow companies to take their data-driven marketing strategy to the next level while providing predictive analytics that can help foster customer loyalty.<\/p>\n<p>As the current market trends make third-party data collection riskier in terms of compliance and accuracy, make sure you\u2019re working with a technology provider that facilitates zero-party and first-party data collection and can help your company take meaningful action with that data. Combining those two types of customer data with product data will provide your company with the commerce data fuel it needs to strategize and scale winning customer journeys.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in learning more about how Bloomreach can optimize your marketing strategies, customer engagement, and business outcomes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/en\/products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">visit Bloomreach.com to learn more<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/visit.bloomreach.com\/master-the-art-of-d2c-marketing-v2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bloomreach.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/conquer-the-customer-journey-in-article.png\" alt=\"Learn more about relevant use cases for your D2C business.\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Winning in digital commerce in today&#8217;s uber competitive online marketplace starts with having a top notch ecommerce data strategy that can lead to offering personalized commerce experiences for your loyal customers. Ensuring that your marketing strategy is a data-driven strategy is arguably the most important step in optimizing your marketing efforts for your ecommerce business. 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