What is zero-party data?
Zero-party data is information that customers deliberately and proactively share with a brand, such as their preferences, interests, needs, purchase plans or how they want to be contacted. Because people volunteer it directly, it is usually accurate, comes with clear consent and reflects intent rather than guesses based on behavior.
The term was popularized by Forrester. Many marketers treat zero-party data as a subset of first-party data, but the distinction is useful when planning how you collect and use customer information.
How zero-party data is collected
Quizzes and product finders: a skincare brand asks about skin type and concerns before recommending products.
Preference centers: customers choose topics, product categories and email frequency.
Surveys and polls: short questions after a purchase or on site.
Onboarding forms: an app asks about goals or interests during sign-up.
Wishlists and registries: customers save items they plan to buy.
Interactive ads and content: polls or choices built into creative, where the format supports it.
The key is a fair exchange: people share more when they get something useful back, such as better recommendations, relevant offers or less irrelevant email.
Why zero-party data matters
Privacy and consent: data shared knowingly fits privacy laws and browser limits better than cross-site tracking.
Accuracy: stated preferences are clearer than inferred interests from browsing history.
Personalization: you can tailor creative, offers and messaging to what people told you they want.
Better segments: zero-party answers can define high-value audience segments for advertising, when uploaded with consent to ad platforms.
There are limits. Zero-party data is usually small in volume, and people's stated intentions do not always match what they do. Answers also go stale as needs change, so refresh them over time. It works best combined with behavioral first-party data.
Zero-party data vs first-party data
First-party data is any data a company collects directly from its own customers and channels, including behavior such as pages viewed, purchases and app usage. Zero-party data is the part customers actively hand over, such as preferences and plans. Both are collected directly, unlike third-party data, which is bought from outside providers. Put simply: first-party data shows what customers do; zero-party data shows what they say they want.
Using zero-party data in advertising
To use it in paid media, store zero-party answers in your CRM, build segments, and upload them to ad platforms through consented, hashed customer match features. You can also use the insights to plan creative and targeting for wider audiences, which supports cookieless advertising.
Zero-party data with AdGeeks
AdGeeks helps you turn consented customer data into campaigns on DV360, Amazon DSP and Adform, where the platforms support audience uploads. Our traders build segments, match messaging to stated preferences and report how each segment performs. To get started, request access.
