The furniture giant is one of a growng list of brands loosening the reins on control of customer data, but how will marketers provide value with the push towards greater privacy?
Ikea's decision to give customers more control about how it handles their data signals the role privacy around customer data now plays in the brand marketer's toolkit, several industry experts say.
The Swedish furniture retailer is now giving consumers the ability to decide how the company uses previous purchases, product preferences and browsing history for product recommendations. The new customer data controls will be first introduced in its app and then rolled out across Ikea websites in the UK, France, Netherlands and Spain.
The changes to the app allow users to opt for a private session, which won’t record any of their activities. Ikea will also let customers nominate the length of time it can hold onto their data and not use browsing history for retargeting with digital ads.
In response, CMO looked at whether the changes signal a shift in brands handing back control to customers. Constellation Research VP and principal analyst, Liz Miller, described the decision as “more of a slow roll into compliance, than a radical shift towards security”. She pointed out the Swedish flat pack furniture giant has had a series of security gaffes and breaches in recent years and applauded the decision, while also sounding a note of caution.
“It demonstrates an understanding that exceptional customer experience extends to a customer’s dataas much as it involves a customer’s wallet,” Miller said. “Today’s global Consumer is tired of feeling used and abused by the brands they entrust their data and wallet share to.”
However, Miller saw the real test - for Ikea and any other brand loosening the reins on the ability to collect consumer data - will come afterwards.
“Will the company honour privacy and permissions at every touchpoint in the journey? Or will they re-introduce questions and re-ask in the hope someone forgets? How will Ikea prove this move is more than spinning regulatory compliance as a bold step in customer centricity?” she asked.
With GDPR in the UK, the California Privacy Protection Act (CCPA) and a raft of other bills and legislation elsewhere in the US, there’s an increasing focus on consumer data rights. Ikea isn’t alone in introducing more transparent permission andidentity controls. Asos and Burberry, for example, have these types of permission and identity controls in place.
IDC marketing and sales technology research director, Gerry Murray, saw these changes as significant enough to expand the established five Ps of marketing into six.
“Privacy has joined Product, Price, Promotion, Place and People,” Murray told CMO. “At a minimum, Ikea’s new policy articulates a brand value about how they will respect customer data. Potentially, it could lead to more loyal and profitable lifetime relationships.”
It’s a sentiment echoed in Gartner’s 2019 Consumer Privacy Survey, which found consumers view protection of their data as part of the brand experience.
