Checking what retailer customer data is available

Ask what your team can use, inspect and receive from the proposed retailer service. Access to an audience-building tool does not mean access to the customer records behind it. Obtain the available fields, outputs and account permissions for each intended use.

Check three uses separately

Check three uses separately

Planning insight helps assess a category, product or shopper group before booking. Activation data defines an audience the media system can target. Measurement data describes delivery or outcomes afterwards. A retailer may offer all three without giving the advertiser the same data or access in each setting.

For each use, also record the access route, update timing, user roles and any subscription condition. Ask what the account can export rather than assuming that a dashboard can supply a dataset.

Read provider descriptions at the right level

Read provider descriptions at the right level

Nectar360 says Sainsbury's and Argos suppliers can subscribe to Sainsbury's Insights Platform. It describes reports on product and category performance, customer behaviour, ranging, promotions and new product development. That establishes a supplier insight offer, not the exact fields or permissions in a proposed subscription.

For a Pollen proposal, ask which audience definitions, counts and reporting outputs the proposed account can see. Do not assume this includes underlying individual records.

Tesco Media describes customer insight and self-service planning through Sphere, but its overview does not specify advertiser access to individual fields or exports. Boots Media Group describes an insight-led offer using first-party data without detailing advertiser-facing datasets. For either proposal, request a sample output and field list.

Establish the data and privacy boundary

Establish the data and privacy boundary

For a purchase-based audience, ask which transactions are observed, the lookback period and the refresh date. “No observed purchase” means none in the defined data and period. It cannot show that a person bought nothing elsewhere.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office advises organisations planning direct marketing to identify the information used, the activity, responsibilities and lawful basis, and to account for people's right to object. The responsible privacy team should assess the proposed data flow and permissions. A feature appearing in a media interface is not legal clearance.

IAB Europe's document is titled Commerce Media Measurement Standards. Its title alone does not establish which reporting or data-delivery routes a retailer offers. If the decision needs only a category trend, an aggregate report may suffice. If it needs data to be joined elsewhere, ask whether an authorised route exists and what it provides.

Record the requested use, documented source, coverage, access method, permitted users, output fields and unresolved limits. That gives “first-party data access” a meaning the team can check.

Key Data and Privacy Considerations from UK Regulators and Providers