How to be GDPR compliant in 5 steps and boost e-commerce growth

In the previous post, we discussed why GDPR compliance matters in general and for e-commerce growth. From being compliant for legal reasons, keeping users’ sensitive data safe, not to mention having higher quality insights for a truly data-driven strategy.

In this post, we will discuss why you should be GDPR compliant to boost your e-commerce growth and how to be GDPR compliant in 5 steps:

1. Work with an e-commerce tracking expert

2. Appoint a DPO

3. Check data from your CMP

4. Update your legal content

5. Compare data from multiple platforms

But first, why should yo be GDPR compliant?

Why you should be GDPR compliant

Simply put, here are 3 keypoints to why you should be GDPR compliant:

• Protect your business from fines

• Reassure your website visitors 

• Data-driven strategy - in the bonus 3 e-commerce strategy tips, we briefly discuss data-driven strategy. Qualitative insights come from qualitative data, which, in turn, needs to be collected in a qualitative manner. Qualitative data should help you have more insights on your users and customers, optimize your advertising campaigns and spend their budget more efficiently.

How to be GDPR compliant in 5 steps

1. Work with an e-commerce tracking expert* to ensure:

   • All data collecting platforms are listed on your website: Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, Google Tag Manager, other platforms such as Hotjar…

   • Website events are set up: you should at the very least track page views, add to cart, begin checkout, and finish purchase events

   • Data flows seamlessly between GA4, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, Meta Ads and other platforms you may use

   *You can also set up these events yourself if you are at ease with coding, Google Tag Manager and such, but I believe that for this task it’s best to hire a technical expert to make sure you set up a strong foundation.

2. Appoint a DPO or Data Protection Officer if you haven’t already. This can be your company’s president, CEO or other general director.

3. Check the data from your CMP or Conscent Manager Platform

   • Check your opt-in rate or how many users accept the cookies on your website. 80% and up is a reachable goal, but 70% is a good start.

   • Optimize your cookie banner

4. Make sur your website’s legal content is up to date, that includes:

   • General Terms of Sale

   • Legal Policy

   • Privacy Policy

   • Cookie Policy

5. Compare data from multiple platforms such as your CMS (Shopify, WooCommerce or other) and GA4, collect and compare data with an insightful KPI tracking setup - a separate post coming on this soon!

In this post, we discussed why you should be GDPR compliant to boost your e-commerce growth and how to be GDPR compliant in 5 steps.

Do you agree with this reasoning and the 5 steps?