Zero-Party Data: How to Collect It From Shoppers

Zero-party data is information shoppers deliberately share with your store, such as their size or preferred style. Collect it through a useful question, then use the answer to change the products or messages they receive.

For a style quiz, start with the decision each answer will support. A colour preference can narrow recommendations immediately. A question you won’t use only makes the quiz longer.

Zero-Party Data in Plain Terms

Zero-party data tells you what a shopper says they want. It can include their usual size, a purchase budget, preferred materials or plans to buy a gift.

The term comes from Forrester, which distinguishes these deliberate answers from information a store observes. Its explanation of zero-party data includes purchase intentions and how a person wants a brand to recognise them.

In a hypothetical shoe store, a shopper tells you they wear size 8 and want wide-fit shoes. Those answers are zero-party data. They give you a stated requirement that a page view alone cannot supply.

A volunteered answer can still be incomplete or change over time. A shopper buying a gift might describe someone else’s preferences, so ask whether the choice is for them before saving it as their own.

How It Differs From First-Party Data

Zero-party data is volunteered, while other first-party data is observed through your direct relationship with the shopper. Both come directly to the store. The distinction is whether the person tells you a preference or you infer one from their actions.

Store example	Zero-party data	Other first-party data
Shoe size	The shopper selects size 8 in their profile	An order records a purchase of size 8 shoes
Style	They say they prefer neutral colours	They browse several beige coats
Purchase plans	They say they need a gift	They visit your gift collection
How to interpret it	A stated answer for a particular context	An action that can have several explanations

A purchased size might belong to a gift recipient. Browsing beige coats doesn’t prove the shopper wants beige in every category. Keep stated preferences separate from inferred interests so one doesn’t silently replace the other.

Read the guide to first-party data for the wider set of information your store collects directly.

Five Ways to Collect Zero-Party Data

Collect zero-party data where the question helps shoppers complete the task they’re already doing. These five methods fit different moments in the customer relationship.

Product quizzes

A product quiz asks shoppers about their needs before recommending a shortlist. Ask questions that separate products in your catalogue, such as preferred fit or the activity they need an item for.

Australian retailer She Science has a Bra Finder Quiz. Its sports bra collection directs shoppers to the quiz when they’re unsure which sports bra style to choose. The reason to answer is practical help choosing a bra from the range.

For your own quiz, connect every answer to a recommendation rule. Read the guide to product finder quizzes when you’re ready to build the questions and results.

Preference centres

A preference centre lets shoppers choose which categories they want to hear about and how often they want messages. Give customers a way to change those answers as their interests change.

Keep product interests separate from permission to receive marketing. Choosing a clothing category is a preference, while opting into promotional emails is a separate decision.

Post-purchase surveys

A post-purchase survey can ask why the customer chose an item or who they bought it for. A short question after delivery can also ask whether the size or style met their expectations.

Use the answer to improve the next recommendation or identify a repeated product issue. Don’t ask for a long account of the purchase if a single choice will support that decision.

Account profiles

An optional account profile can hold a customer’s usual size and saved style preferences. Explain what saving each field does, and let the shopper update or remove it.

Separate a general preference from a one-off shopping need. A size saved in a profile shouldn’t override a different size the customer asks for during a particular visit.

Questions in chat

An AI shopping agent can ask a clarifying question during a conversation, such as which size the shopper needs or what budget they have. The answer can narrow the current product recommendations without a separate form.

Using an answer during a chat and saving it for future visits are separate choices. Explain any longer-term use before collecting the answer, and save only preferences that the shopper intends to apply beyond that purchase.

Give Shoppers a Reason to Share

Shoppers have a reason to answer when the result helps them shop. Explain the benefit beside the question, then deliver it in the next step.

A size question can remove unsuitable options from the shortlist. A style preference can make recommendations more relevant. For early access, ask which collection the shopper wants news about and make the marketing choice explicit.

Ask for less when your store can use less. If you don’t stock different widths, a width question won’t help you choose between products. Remove questions that collect interesting information without changing the customer’s experience.

Avoid promising a correct fit from preferences alone. Use the product’s measurements and fit guidance to help the shopper judge the recommendation.

Put the Answers to Work

Use volunteered answers to choose products and content the customer has said they want. A segment is simply a group of customers with a shared answer, such as an interest in workwear.

In a hypothetical fashion store, a shopper selects relaxed-fit workwear and asks to receive workwear emails. Their recommendations can prioritise relaxed-fit items in stock. Their emails can feature that category within the marketing permission they gave.

Build your zero-party data strategy around the actions your store can take.

1. Pick the questions. Write the decision beside each one, such as using a fit preference to narrow a product shortlist. Remove questions with no planned use.
2. Choose where to ask. Use a quiz for a guided product choice or a preference centre for ongoing email interests. Keep the answer optional where it isn’t needed.
3. Store answers against the customer profile. Keep the source and context with each field, including whether the preference is for the customer or a gift recipient. Keep marketing permissions separate.
4. Review which answers get used. Follow an answer through to the recommendation or email it changes. If the field never affects either, stop collecting it.

Test the path with a sample profile before opening the quiz to customers. A relaxed-fit answer must produce suitable products, and changing it must change the result. If the output stays the same, repair the recommendation rule before asking more shoppers to answer.

For ways to apply those preferences across the store, read the guide to ecommerce personalisation.

Consent and Privacy Rules

Volunteered preferences are still personal information under Australia’s Privacy Act when they relate to an identified or reasonably identifiable person. Giving an answer willingly doesn’t remove the store’s privacy obligations.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner explains what counts as personal information. A preference saved against a named customer profile meets that description. Truly anonymous answers need a different assessment from answers tied to an account.

For stores covered by the Act, Australian Privacy Principle 5 requires reasonable steps to explain collection at or before it happens. The regulator’s collection notice guidance covers the purposes and usual disclosures, including likely overseas recipients. It also covers access to the privacy policy and the consequences of not answering.

Put a short, clear notice beside the quiz or chat question, with a prominent link to the fuller collection notice. Explain whether the answer is used for this shortlist, saved to a profile or used for later marketing. A collection notice explains handling. It doesn’t automatically provide consent for every later use.

Privacy Act coverage depends on the business, and small-business exemptions have exceptions. The regulator’s small-business guidance explains the coverage test.

Before launching a style quiz, match each question to its stated use and its notice. Keep only the answers your store needs, and give customers a way to change their preferences.