The reason the practice of collecting consumer data is so prevalent is that it is very easy to do and opens potential opportunities for the business in future.

The reason the practice of collecting consumer data is so prevalent is that it is very easy to do and opens potential opportunities for the business in future. Never mind that it exposes consumers to risks. The practice won't stop until consumer data becomes a liability for any business touching it. At that time, only businesses that are actually able to utilize the data to derive revenue sufficient to compensate the liability will continue to collect it. Hopefully, in many cases the revenue would come about as a result of creation of some value for the consumer.