Eli5: Why/How do companies make so much money collecting and selling data?

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Is it really that valuable? How much are these companies shelling out to purchase said data from other companies?
And what data are they typically selling/buying?
I’m a fairly boring person. I just can’t wrap my head around some company wanting to pay for information about who I am, what I like, etc.

Curious if anyone can share more information on this business model/practice.

In: Economics

8 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

> Is it really that valuable?

Yes.

> How much are these companies shelling out to purchase said data from other companies?

Not much on a per unit basis, but when you’re buying millions of people’s data those numbers add up.

> I’m a fairly boring person. I just can’t wrap my head around some company wanting to pay for information about who I am, what I like, etc.

You and everyone else is incredibly boring. Virtually everyone is boring. BUT that isn’t what the companies buying this data care about. What they care about is “how do I get you to spend money on my product”. Understanding what you like, dislike, watch, eat, drink etc. allows companies to put you into a category of people like you and then target you with content/material/products that resonate specifically with you.

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