How Your eCommerce Brand Can Survive the Third Party Cookie Phase Out

Google’s aim to phase out third party cookies was first announced back in 2020. Since then there have been several delays. However, it now appears that the third party cookies phase out is firmly on track, and due to come into force by the end of 2024. In fact, to show they’re serious, Google has already turned off cookies for 30 million Chrome users.¹

Google has by far the largest market share of the browser market, globally, (at 66. 41%).² This makes the phase out a big deal for the many eCommerce companies that rely on their third party cookies.

In this post, we’ll guide you through everything you need to know about Google’s third party cookies phase out. We’ll offer some practical tips, and examine how partnering with a powerful promotions engine could help you navigate this seismic shift.

What are third party cookies?

First-party cookies are set by the site that’s being visited. They’re used primarily to enhance a customer’s experience onsite. Third party cookies, on the other hand, are set by a domain other than the one a user is visiting. They can track, and collect data, about a user’s experience while they’re browsing different websites.

Importance of third party cookies

Third party cookies have become crucial tools for many eCommerce businesses, with these cookies used for 78% of programmatic ad buys in Q3 2023.³ Despite the forthcoming demise of third party cookies, companies haven’t decreased their ad spend in this area, but actually increased it. This lack of preparation could turn out to be a costly mistake.

Recommended reading: Download our free guide “Do You Need a Promotions Engine? eCommerce platforms vs CRMs vs in-house tools”. One of the best ways to ensure campaign success in the post-cookie era is to use software dedicated to delivering promotional offerings. Discover how to identify the best solution for your business.

Google phase out third party cookies: The impact on eCommerce marketing

Businesses that currently use third party cookies will find it more difficult to:

Track behaviours across different sites, in order to create detailed user profiles, and tailor marketing messages accordingly.
Analyse campaigns: Without third party cookies, eCommerce businesses will have to find other ways to facilitate campaign measurement, and effectiveness.
Retarget customers: Businesses will no longer be able to use third-party cookies to retarget users who have previously visited their website, in order to re-engage with them.

How to prepare for Google’s third party cookies phase out?

In the new age of privacy-focused interactions, and cookie-less advertising, adaptability will be key. Here’s what you should do…

1) Focus on first-party data acquisition

The loss of third-party cookies will make first party data directly from visitors a priority.

To ensure your eCommerce strategy stays relevant, you will need to put extra emphasis on increasing acquisition, and find ways to leverage your direct website data.

Revisit traditional marketing strategies: Ramp up SEO, and email marketing. Use content marketing, to attract, and engage with, the right audience. Gather valuable customer data, by encouraging visitors to register on your site to receive newsletters. Or ask users to exchange their information for valuable downloadable content.
Strengthen your opt-in strategies: Use pop-ups, landing pages, and embedded forms. Exclusive discount voucher codes, and other types of promotions, can serve as valuable touchpoints for gathering leads. Offer exclusive content, or promotional offers in your emails, to attract people to your site and accumulate high-quality, first-party data.
Use a promotion engine: A promotion engine will help you create personalised promotional messaging, including early access offers, and exit-intent popups, to drive engagement, conversions, and retention.

Choosing a promotion engine that can generate unique, single-use codes, gives you the ability to offer customers more than just standard discounts. You’ll be able to deliver a personalised onsite promotion experience, that will help you capture first-party data, incentivise behaviours, and deliver great first impressions.

Pro tip: Uniqodo’s platform is transparent, and won’t be affected by Google’s third party cookie phase out. It operates using first-party data, with the consent of valid users, and thereby avoids any privacy concerns.

Case study: Samsung - Early Bird Black Friday Campaign

The problem: Samsung needed a strategy to drive lead generation and sell aged and overstocked products during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales period.

Solution: Samsung collaborated with Uniqodo to create an exclusive Early Bird campaign. This campaign utilized a custom landing page with four tiers of discounts accessible only through unique codes sent to early access subscribers. The multi-tiered discount algorithm ensured customers could purchase one product from each tier up to five times, with bespoke messaging and a seamless promotion experience designed to drive conversions.

Results: The campaign generated 200,000 new customers and engaged 300,000 participants, achieving a 56% email open rate and a 40% unique click-to-open rate. The campaign not only cleared distressed stock but also enhanced Samsung’s digital customer experience during a competitive sales period.

2) Build customer loyalty programs to gather data

Loyalty programs offer you a powerful way to retain customers, and drive repeat business. They can also serve as a platform for gathering valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviours.

3) Explore new advertising technologies

The demise of third party cookies may see eCommerce companies considering alternative advertising technologies, like Google Sandbox.⁴

While it’s still in development, Google plans to replace third-party cookies with a new set of privacy-focused technologies. These will provide advertisers with the information they need for targeted advertising, without compromising on individual user privacy.

4) Manage and leverage your first-party data

Ecommerce companies that previously relied on third-party cookies will need to find new ways to attribute conversions to marketing efforts accurately: Google analytics, a CRM, social media analytics, and email marketing platforms, can all provide you a valuable way to collect insights about your visitors and customers.

Single-use promotional codes can help to enable effective prospect tracking too. They offer you the ability to track individual codes, and align them with specific individuals and actions. This will also help you prevent promo code abuse.

As well as tracking individual codes, you can also use a promotions engine’s analytics capabilities. This can help you pull analytics from all your marketing channels together into one place, to give you valuable insights, and inform your strategy.

Pro tip: Uniqodo’s platform gives customers a holistic view of their promotional marketing activities, by connecting to all aspects of a customer journey, with a powerful API integration between your CRM, website, social channels, and partners.

A promotions engine can help you make the switch to privacy-based marketing

Google’s third party cookies phase out will present a challenge to many eCommerce businesses. However, looking on the bright side, it could open up new (and even better) approaches to your marketing going forward.

By adapting and embracing more privacy-friendly marketing strategies, you can continue to deliver unique, personalised experiences, whilst respecting your users’ privacy.

Uniqodo's promotions software can assist you in making the transition away from third party cookies. We can help you focus on secure, personalised promotional campaigns, (that don't rely on third party data) ensuring your campaigns are both compliant and effective. To discuss how we could work together to not just maintain, but boost, your presence in a post-cookie world, book a demo today.