Brands and consumers benefit in a data-transparent society

Shopitize is coming forward as a supporter of data transparency acts, such as the UK Government's midata initiative and the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) in the US.

A recent report, Ctrl-Shift's 'The new personal data landscape' raised the issues and opportunities which have emerged from new trends in data collection, as we move towards a consumer-centric model of data management.

These issues are key to the London-based firm, whose Shopitize personal shopping assistant app allows users to easily capture and organise shopping receipt data on their smartphones, handing control of data about their shopping habits to the individual. Shopitize believes that consumers should not only have 100% ownership of their data, but also benefit from it. Shopitize is one of the first companies to recognise this and convert it into clear user benefits.

“At Shopitize we believe consumers should have control over what to share, with whom to share and when to stop sharing,” says Alexey Andriyanenko. “It is the user's right to know what records are stored on them, and should have easy and automated access to any personal data which companies hold. Shopitize does not take data, it helps consumers to capture it, organise it, make sense of it and benefit from it.”

“No one else is in a better position to collect data on you than yourself”

In the Ctrl-Shift report, personal data is seen in terms of a beneficial service and tool in the hands of the user – an idea which Shopitize supports. The user's data, Andriyanenko says, should be easily accessible, anywhere and at any time it is needed.

As the data landscape evolves away from being organisation-centric towards a more consumer-centric approach, Shopitize asserts that data about the user should be the user's data. Through its mobile and web apps, Shopitize provides a tool for consumers to better analyse their purchasing activity, managed by themselves as an individual.

“We believe consumers own their own data and should benefit from it shall they choose to share it,” says Andriyanenko. “Shopitize aims to provide an integrated and centralised platform to help users manage and control all their spending data in one place, simple and hassle-free. No one else is in a better position to collect data on you than yourself – our task is simply to make that process easier.”

“Companies should not profit from simply owning your data”

Shopitize provides a clear benefit for users by helping them organise their lives and shopping habits more efficiently. The company sees an opportunity in this changing data landscape for both consumer and organisations.

For brands, the Shopitize platform provides a better understanding of consumer spending habits. As the data is gathered by users, it is integrated across companies and channels, in a way which is much more individually representative.

Brands hoping to benefit from this new landscape of user-led sharing of data, Andriyanenko says, need to remember that in return they need to provide a service to consumers, and earn their trust.

“Companies should not profit from simply owning your data, they should profit from helping you take advantage of that data,” concludes Andriyanenko.

The Shopitize Android App can be downloaded at: play.google.com.

Its iPhone app is available at: itunes.apple.com.