For years, marketers relied heavily on browsing behavior, advertising platforms, and third-party cookies to understand customer interests. However, privacy protections and changing consumer expectations have made cross-site tracking less dependable.
The situation is more nuanced than simply saying third-party cookies have disappeared. Google decided in 2025 to keep user choice for third-party cookies in Chrome rather than introduce a new standalone opt-in prompt. Meanwhile, Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, and Firefox uses Total Cookie Protection to restrict cross-site tracking.
Therefore, brands need customer strategies that depend less on hidden tracking and more on information people willingly provide.
That is where zero-party data and SMS work particularly well together.
Instead of guessing that someone likes running shoes because they visited several product pages, a brand can simply ask: “What are you shopping for? Reply RUNNING, HIKING, or CASUAL.”
The customer provides the answer voluntarily. As a result, the business gains useful data while the subscriber receives more relevant communication.
What Is Zero-Party Data?
Zero-party data is information customers intentionally and proactively share with a business. It can include preferences, purchase intentions, personal context, communication choices, and information about how customers want a brand to interact with them.
Examples include:
- Preferred product categories
- Clothing or shoe sizes
- Purchase intentions
- Favorite locations
- Communication frequency
- Interests and hobbies
- Budget ranges
- Preferred appointment times
- Product goals
- Survey responses
The key distinction involves intent.
First-party data usually describes behavior a company observes directly, such as purchases, website activity, or email engagement. In contrast, zero-party data comes from information customers deliberately provide.
For example:
First-party data: A customer viewed hiking boots three times.
Zero-party data: The customer says, “I’m preparing for a hiking trip.”
Both signals have value. However, the second provides context that browsing behavior alone cannot reliably reveal.
Why SMS Works Well for Zero-Party Data
SMS naturally supports short, direct interactions.
Businesses do not need to send customers a 20-question survey. Instead, they can collect one useful preference at a time.
For example:
“Which updates would you like from us? Reply DEALS, RESTOCKS, NEW, or ALL.”
The subscriber can respond within seconds.
Moreover, SMS conversations can connect directly with CRM profiles, segmentation tools, e-commerce systems, and automated workflows.
Therefore, a simple reply can immediately improve future communication.
A response of “RESTOCKS,” for instance, could add a customer to a back-in-stock segment while reducing unrelated promotional messages.
1. Ask Subscribers What They Want
One of the strongest zero-party data strategies is also the simplest: ask customers directly.
Instead of assuming what subscribers want, businesses can collect explicit preferences.
A beauty retailer might ask:
“What are you most interested in? Reply SKIN, HAIR, MAKEUP, or FRAGRANCE.”
Meanwhile, a travel company could ask:
“What type of trip are you planning? Reply BEACH, CITY, FAMILY, or ADVENTURE.”
These answers can immediately improve segmentation.
Furthermore, subscribers understand why the business asked the question. That transparency creates a cleaner value exchange than silently building profiles from unrelated browsing activity.
2. Use SMS Preference Centers
Preference centers extend this strategy beyond individual replies.
Subscribers can choose:
- Topics they want
- Message frequency
- Product categories
- Preferred store
- Events
- Loyalty updates
- Restock notifications
For example, a customer could select:
- Topics: Running + Outdoor
- Frequency: Weekly
- Alerts: Restocks + Price Drops
The business now has highly actionable information.
Consequently, it can send fewer irrelevant messages instead of broadcasting every campaign to the entire SMS list.
Preference-center information is a classic example of zero-party data because customers intentionally provide it.
3. Build Short SMS Quizzes
Interactive quizzes can make data collection useful for both the business and the customer.
Suppose a skincare brand asks:
- What is your skin type?
- What is your main concern?
- What type of routine do you prefer?
The customer receives a personalized recommendation. Meanwhile, the business learns which products may be relevant.
Forrester highlights short quizzes, polls, and website widgets as practical ways to collect zero-party data and recommends keeping these experiences simple while offering a clear value exchange.
Therefore, the goal should not be to collect every possible detail.
Ask only questions that improve the next customer experience.
4. Collect Purchase Intent
Browsing behavior tells marketers what someone viewed. However, it does not always explain why.
Zero-party data can reveal intent directly.
For example:
“When are you planning to replace your phone?”
A subscriber might choose:
- This month
- Within three months
- Later this year
- Just researching
That answer can dramatically change the follow-up strategy.
A customer purchasing this month may need pricing or availability information. Meanwhile, someone researching may benefit from educational content instead of repeated sales messages.
As a result, brands can match marketing intensity to actual customer intent.
5. Personalize Without Becoming Creepy
Personalization works best when customers understand where the information came from.
Consider these two messages:
“Still thinking about the jacket you viewed at 11:42 last night?”
and:
“You told us you’re interested in outdoor gear. Our new hiking collection just arrived: [link].”
The second message explains itself naturally because the customer previously shared that preference.
Therefore, zero-party data can make personalization feel more transparent.
However, brands should still avoid using every available data point in every message. Knowing something about a customer does not mean mentioning it constantly.
Useful personalization should improve relevance rather than demonstrate how much information the company possesses.
6. Combine Zero-Party And First-Party Data
Zero-party data should not replace behavioral data entirely.
Instead, the strongest customer profiles combine what people say with what they actually do.
| Data Signal | Example | What It Reveals |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-party | “I prefer hiking gear” | Stated interest |
| First-party | Purchased hiking boots | Actual behavior |
| Zero-party | “Buying within 30 days” | Purchase intent |
| First-party | Clicked pricing link | Engagement |
| Zero-party | “Weekly texts only” | Communication preference |
Together, these signals create stronger context.
For example, someone may say they like cycling equipment but consistently purchase running products. Rather than assuming one signal is wrong, marketers can treat both as useful information.
As a result, customer profiles become more flexible and realistic.
7. Turn SMS Replies Into Automated Segments
Zero-party data becomes much more useful when marketers connect it to automation.
A simple workflow might look like:
Subscriber Reply → Preference Saved → Customer Segment Updated → Relevant SMS Flow Triggered
For example:
Customer replies: DOG
The system can then:
- Save “dog owner” as a preference.
- Add the subscriber to a dog-products segment.
- Remove irrelevant cat-only promotions.
- Trigger a relevant welcome sequence.
- Personalize future product recommendations.
Therefore, conversational SMS becomes more than customer communication. It also becomes a structured data collection channel.
8. Use Progressive Profiling Instead of Long Forms
Brands often make one mistake when discovering zero-party data: they start asking too many questions.
However, customers rarely want to complete a detailed profile just to receive a discount code.
Instead, collect information gradually.
For example:
- Sign-up: Mobile number
- Welcome message: Product interest
- Week two: Preferred content
- After purchase: Product goal
- Later: Communication frequency
This process, often called progressive profiling, reduces friction because every interaction asks for only a small amount of information.
Moreover, marketers can stop asking questions once they already have enough data to create relevant experiences.
Zero-party data requires participation. Therefore, customers need a reason to answer.
Useful value exchanges include:
- Better product recommendations
- Relevant restock alerts
- Personalized discounts
- Faster service
- Local information
- Early access
- Better content
- Fewer irrelevant messages
For example:
“Tell us your favorite category so we only send offers you’ll actually care about.”
That proposition explains the benefit immediately.
In contrast, “Tell us more about yourself” focuses entirely on what the business wants.
Therefore, every data request should answer a simple customer question: What do I get from sharing this?
10. Measure Data Quality, Not Just Data Volume
More customer information does not automatically create better marketing.
Brands should measure whether zero-party data actually improves outcomes.
Useful metrics include:
- SMS click-through rate
- Conversion rate
- Revenue per recipient
- Preference completion rate
- Repeat purchase rate
- Opt-out rate
- Response rate
- Messages sent per conversion
For example, personalized segments may generate the same revenue while requiring fewer messages.
That can represent an improvement because the business reduces messaging costs and subscriber fatigue without sacrificing sales.
A More Direct Future For Customer Data
Third-party cookies have not vanished universally, especially because Chrome continues to give users control over their availability. However, browser privacy protections and broader expectations around tracking make it risky to build a marketing strategy that depends heavily on cross-site data.
Zero-party data offers another approach.
Instead of trying to infer everything, brands can ask customers directly about their preferences, intentions, interests, and communication choices.
SMS makes that process particularly practical because conversations can remain short, immediate, and easy to automate.
Ultimately, brands do not need to know everything about every customer. They need the right information to create a more useful interaction.
When businesses combine zero-party data, SMS, first-party behavior, preference centers, and thoughtful automation, they can build stronger customer profiles while relying less on third-party tracking.
