# Creating an Ecommerce Customer Data Inventory

> Map customer data across the store, apps, providers, and backups, so retention, access and deletion decisions are complete.

- Type: Merchant guide
- Level: Intermediate
- Reading time: About 4 minutes
- Audience: Written for store owners, builders, and designers refining high-performance ecommerce stores.
- Last updated: 2026-11-04
- Canonical page: https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/creating-an-ecommerce-customer-data-inventory/
- Part of: [Merchant Questions](https://academy.getzenbasket.com/merchant-questions/) on ZenBasket Academy

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## What you need to know

### How do I know what customer data my ecommerce store holds?

Build a data inventory from forms, database fields, events, apps, exports, logs, support systems and backups, then verify it with system owners and technical observation.

### What is a data inventory?

A data inventory records data categories, subjects, purposes, sources, systems, recipients, locations, access, retention and deletion methods.

### Where can ecommerce customer data exist?

Customer data can exist in storefront and order databases, payment and shipping services, CRM, email, SMS, analytics, support, logs, exports, devices, apps and backups.

### Should app and plugin data be included in a data inventory?

Yes. Apps and plugins may hold independent copies and create derived data. Include their fields, purpose, location, retention, access and deletion process.

### Should backups be included when considering customer-data retention?

Yes. Backups affect how long data remains recoverable and how deletion is handled after restoration. Document protection, retention, and reapplication of deletions.

### How should customer data flowing to external services be documented?

Record the source, destination provider, data fields, purpose, trigger, location, legal or contractual basis, retention, security and responsible owner.

### A quick store check

Trace one customer from checkout through email, support, analytics, apps, exports and backups and add every destination to the inventory.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Can a spreadsheet export be omitted from the inventory?

No. Ad hoc exports are often high-risk copies and need ownership, protection, retention and deletion rules.

### Who updates the inventory after a new app launches?

Assign the product or data owner and make inventory review part of the launch checklist.

## Related articles

- **Ecommerce Privacy Fundamentals**
- **Writing an Ecommerce Privacy Policy**