In the digital society, companies that offer engaging experiences are more likely to receive consent from their customers to pass on data about their buying habits. This virtuous circle is activated through mutual trust. The consumer's expectation is to receive something in return for brand loyalty.
There are a number of tools for gathering useful customer information: loyalty programmes, e-mail newsletters, social channels, and even visitor traffic surveys in stores. The more relevant information you have about your customers, the more possibilities you have:
- to improve service and turnover at points of sale
- to customize the shopping experience
- to offer products in line with expectations, in order to consolidate the relationship.
Security and protection of the data
The increased collection of customer data by businesses raises the question of how to collect, retain and use customer data without infringing consumer rights.
Various market research studies confirm that consumers are attentive and concerned about how their sensitive data is used, although most tend not to read all the points of the Privacy Policy before accepting it. Moreover, the consumer tends to react very harshly to "blatant" breaches of his data, while being more flexible with practices that are not too aggressive.
If customers believe that their information is being collected without their consent, or in a questionable and unsafe manner, the risk of losing them becomes very real and the resulting damage to the brand's image could be difficult to recover.
The role of retailers
How can retailers reassure customers about the use of their data?
- In-depth consideration of security practices in the collection and retention of data in use is the first important step, along with training all staff on best practices.
- Use transparent privacy policies, adopting simple and clear language without too many legal and regulatory references.
- Offering more options on how data is collected and managed is an effective way to convey confidence to customers who feel they have more control over their data.
Collecting and managing customer data is therefore an important factor in differentiating yourself from the competition, improving sales and increasing your reputation, but it is important to handle all issues relating to privacy with care.
The Visionarea systems make it possible to acquire data on visitors in compliance with the most stringent privacy regulations. None of our sensors record images, they only send anonymous data in text format and do not anticipate any fulfilment relative to privacy (for this reason it is not necessary to involve, in the installation of people counting systems, the person responsible for processing data at the point of sale).