Why CROSS:SCAN?

Answering Common Questions about the Reasons, Needs, and Principles Guiding CBA

CROSS:SCAN was created because:

  • Christian retailers have demonstrated in recent years a greater willingness to work together through their trade association in unprecedented ways for everyone's benefit.
  • Christian retail sales data is a rich asset that, if harnessed properly, can help ALL Christian stores grow and serve their customers better.
  • Christian retail leaders representing thousand of member stores want to equip CBA as their trade association with the best, most comprehensive data to be a stronger advocate for all Christian stores.
  • Good data provides good intelligence and will more accurately drive industry priorities.
  • Christian retailers wanted to create a safe environment for their data that would be within their control and oversight.

CBA has embraced the following guiding principles (validated by CBA member retailers) for all CROSS:SCAN decisions and policies:

  • Christian retail data is a Christian retail asset.
  • Christian retail data must be viewed as a valued currency.
  • Christian retail leaders own their responsibility to shape this channel and its future through CBA in common purpose, singular priorities, and better information about themselves. 
  • Christian retail data must be safeguarded, treated with high regard.
  • Christian retail data should be to harnessed and mobilized first and foremost to help the Christian Retail Channel grow.
  • Christian retail data should help Christian stores be stronger and more effective retailers, and the data should be channeled through CBA as the retail trade association.
  • Data collected by the business transactions of Christian stores should not be available by default to any interested party.  Christian retailers are committed to safeguarding their data and will insist that trading partners do the same.
  • Christian retailers expect CBA to help them use their data with their trading partners and the public in ways that will benefit their stores. 
  • Christian retail data should flow from CBA to other parties only after a retailer has provided CBA with proper, clear authorization. 
  • As Christian retail leaders know more about each other and work together through CBA, they will help CBA determine what data will be appropriate just for the retail participants, for the whole channel, for suppliers, for media, and for the consuming public. 
  • Suppliers should be expected to exercise safeguards to ensure data and intelligence from the Christian Retail Channel does not flow to other competing channels or be used directly or indirectly to benefit other channels of distribution.
  • Suppliers should ensure in writing that any Christian retail data provided to them would be analyzed and used only for the growth and development of the Christian Retail Channel. 
  • Ultimately, a Christian retailer should determine where their sales data is visible and how that sales data is used.