Professor Sun Tianshu's Study Reveals Impact of Personal Data on E-commerce

In the world of online shopping, data assets are like the secret sauce that makes everything work smoothly. These assets are super important because they help websites suggest products that you might like based on your interests. A recent study by Professor Sun Tianshu, who is really smart about Information Systems, looked into how valuable personal data is for e-commerce sites.

Professor Sun and his team did a big experiment with over half a million online shoppers to see how personal data affects how websites work. They turned off the system that suggests products based on personal data for some users to see what would happen.

When users didn't get personalized suggestions, the variety of products on the website went down a lot. They mostly saw popular brands, which made it less fun to explore different things. This caused fewer people to click on products and visit different pages on the site.

The study also found that smaller sellers and people who don't spend a lot of money online were hit hard by not having personalized recommendations. They saw fewer people looking at their products and buying things from them.

This research shows how important personal data is for online shopping and gives businesses ideas on how to use data while still protecting people's privacy. Professor Sun's work at CKGSB's Center for Digital Transformation shows how much we can learn about the digital world.

Understanding how personal data impacts e-commerce platforms is crucial for businesses to provide better shopping experiences for customers. By balancing data usage and privacy protection, companies can create a more personalized and engaging online shopping environment for everyone.