February 17, 2022
Ad Tech

Third-Party Cookies: When Are They Gone and What Is Next?

Swiftly

Supermarkets and CPG brands who have relied on browser cookies for years are preparing for major changes as Google plans a phase-out of cookie use for 2023. Fortunately, the solution is even sweeter.

Third-party cookies were the delicious source of personal data that supported most websites for years. Yet, the unrestricted use and resale of advertising data has left a bad taste in consumers’ mouths, prompting a new diet that will no longer consist of such decadence.

In order to keep up with eCommerce giants, brick and mortar retailers will need to clean their kitchen of old habits and polish their multi-channel strategies to remain competitive.

Who Stole the Cookie From the Cookie Jar?

New regulations have targeted the use of third-party cookies, prompting Firefox and Safari to snap the lid shut on the cookie jar. Google Chrome — which accounts for some 62.8% of web browsing experiences — has likewise committed to a cookie phase-out. Scheduled for late 2023, this will likely sweep the final crumbs of third-party cookies into the rubbish bins of history.

The timing is overdue. Consumers are calling for transparency, with 80% of audiences saying they’re more likely to purchase from companies that take steps to safeguard their personal information. It’s time to do away with old recipes for success and welcome high-tech substitutions. The party will continue, but with new methods of collecting data that will identify consumer preferences and protect privacy, so all guests leave the party satisfied.

The Party's Over: What Comes Next After Third-Party Cookies Go Away?

First-party retail data is becoming increasingly important. While third-party cookies identified consumers by browser addresses, companies will need to adopt a more holistic strategy that relies on first-party data collected from Customer Relationship Management systems, websites, SMS text marketing, email, surveys, mobile apps, beacons, point of purchase scans, and customer service interactions. The end result is a more accurate, comprehensive customer profile that can be used to develop the targeting, execution, marketing, and branding experiences.

What makes first party data better and more secure is that it must be actively collected from users with their consent. Only stores or websites intentionally visited can collect information about a person, as customers can elect to provide their information only to companies with which they wish to engage in order to achieve a more personalized shopping experience.

The party’s no longer browser-based, but rather transitioning to customer relationship base along consumer-friendly platforms. By taking this strategy and deploying privacy-protected mobile platforms, companies show they’re listening and adapting to the consumers’ needs.

First-Party Data and Closed-Loop Reporting

Swiftly offers an alternative to stale methods of third-party cookie collecting. A Swiftly-powered retail platform leverages consumer approved data directly from interacting with shoppers inside a company’s mobile app. From online browsing to SKU-level scanning and purchasing in-store, companies gain access to accurate, actionable insights from the customer approved data to develop long-lasting digital relationships.

By partnering with Swiftly to create a custom omnichannel experience, you can create a recipe for the ideal grocery shopping experience. This includes:

Accurate Data

Third-party cookies resulted in frequent mismatches, irrelevant targeted ads, and data sets that failed to connect across platforms. In a SurveyMonkey study, 44% of social media users found the ads they were shown “irrelevant.” While third party display ads were often perceived as irrelevant, first-party data improves the accuracy of advertising, creating a human-to-human shopping experience.

With a Swiftly-powered platform, shoppers’ needs are heard clearly and accurately. They’ll receive ads, promotions, and information about the products they want—perhaps even before they know they want them.

Security

Browser security problems can allow outside parties access to names, addresses, credit card information, and other personal information stored there. According to Security Magazine, 51% of organizations have experienced a data breach caused by a third-party. First-party data, on the other hand, gives organizations full control over how information is managed.

Swiftly has built security into the platform from the ground up, making it secure by design. It provides a great customer experience, while giving users control and freedom to shop and save the way they want in a secure environment.  Using the Swiftly platform, retailers deploy a fully compliant mobile app experience that leverages only the first party data agreed to by the customer.

Accuracy

Jupiter Research found that 58% of users delete their cookies on a regular basis, with 40% deleting them at least monthly. That means visitors who return to a site month after month will be recorded as “new visitors,” which throws off metrics and causes an uptick in repeat ads shown to the same customers over and over.

First-party data collection alleviates that issue entirely, as people can’t toss out cookies from their phones or credit card swipes. Swiftly partners have shopper data collected from their app, so they can continue sending targeted, relevant ads all year long, with coupons and cross-promotions that speak to real world consumer activity.

Improved Customer Experience

Over-reliance on third-party cookies leads to a focus on the cookies themselves when creating campaigns. As a result, marketers throw away up to half of the budget on missed opportunities, lost connections, and poor impressions. Swiftly’s use of first-party data reveals the impact of advertising from start-to-finish, using artificial intelligence to auto-optimize experiences. The closed-loop platform targets the shopper along the journey from pre-purchase list-making and browsing, to in-store consideration and buying, and onto post-purchase mobile research and returns — showing targeted content all the while.

The result? Brand success, customer loyalty, and bolstered sales. Privacy and personalization needs have outgrown third-party cookies. Moving forward, brands and companies can forge new friendships with providers who understand their concerns.

A Swiftly-powered platform securely collects closed-loop, first-party data based on direct interaction history and product purchases from mobile shopping to in-store interactions, offering a solution that values consumer privacy and takes a fresh, forward-facing approach to improving customer relationships and building brand loyalty.

Find the sweet spot with your customers. Contact Swiftly today.

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