Don't panic Mr Mainwaring

Rather than see privacy as a stumbling block to forging ahead, retailers should see it as an opportunity to innovate, says Dele Atanda, CEO and founder of MetaMe

The implementation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25 changes the way businesses and individuals use and interact with data in many different industries, including retail.

It gives citizens greater control over their data and will enforce data seekers such as retailers to be more open, transparent and secure when handling an individual’s personal information.

Today, data is essential to retail. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has stated that data is the oil of the 21st Century, even going so far as to define personal data as an asset in its own right. Indeed, the WEF has estimated that the value of this data will be worth €1tn (£877bn) in Europe alone by 2020.