Consumers are becoming more aware of how their data is being collected and used.
Indeed, according to a survey made by Salesforce in 2019:
65% of consumers in APAC believe that brands are not transparent about data collection and how they use it.
and 45% don’t believe that companies care about the security of their data.

In one of their latest study, Google and Boston consulting group surveyed 160 brands across the region. The survey revealed that:
- While 87% understand that first-party data is important
- Only 5% of them believe they are using it to drive more relevant experiences for their consumers.
So, there is clearly a huge untapped value in first-party data in this market, which is by the way one of the fastest growing in the world.
Across the region, the top barriers are tech related. Not too surprising, considering the number of data sources and systems today’s marketers have to work with.
62% of brands cited the inability to link technologies as the top barrier, while 46% of them said they’re inhibited by a general lack of understanding and how it can be used.
Breaking down silos, adopting new technology, and keeping up with the latest regulations is an ongoing journey, but the benefits are proven.

Brands that used their first-party data in four specific cases — lifecycle marketing, personalization engine, cross-channel lead management, and audience identification — managed to drive a better performance than those that didn’t.

Indeed, Brands that deployed at least one of these four use cases achieved 1.5 times higher revenue increase than brands that didn’t deploy any of them. And for those that actually deployed all four, they saw a revenue lift of 2.9x.
So, while the role first-party data might differ across businesses, there is no time like today for companies to rethink and be more explicit about what data they collect and why.
And to finish, as per Google & Boston Consulting Group estimates, the use of first-party data has the potential to unlock an estimated $200 billion value for brands in terms of incremental revenue or cost efficiencies in the region.