Customer Data: Designing for Transparency and Trust

Consumer concerns over how personal data is gathered and used have grown in the digital age. Most consumers, however, are not aware of how much information they reveal while they are online, and many firms do not make their data-gathering practices transparent. This erodes trust between companies and consumers. To improve this relationship, firms should enable customers to have control over data obtained, and provide them with appropriate value in exchange for that information. Companies should also educate consumers about how the data is gathered. Self-reported data is information individual volunteer, digital exhaust includes browsing history and location revealed when using the Internet or mobile devices.