Data is easily one of the world’s most valuable resources and represents an opportunity to level the playing field between the haves and the have-nots. If accessible, data can help online and offline merchants of all sizes build bigger and bigger businesses — even in the age of Amazon.
At the same time, a lack of access to quality data could put scores of merchants out of business in the years to come. Google, Facebook and Amazon have been incredibly adept at getting people to share data, and now those three digital giants — with billions of users — own a disproportionate amount of consumer data.
