The death of third-party cookies may be a blessing for retailers

The 2nd wave of digital transformation’s impact on customer identity could be a net win for the retail and ecommerce industry.

I’ve written at length recently about the tide shifts that have been impacting retail and CPG brands over the past year. While COVID-19 has produced challenges for so many families and businesses, many industries have adapted with unprecedented agility. One year ago industry experts were speculating as to the changes that would take place. A year later, several of those predictions are coming true, while others have not materialized.

In my previous column, I discussed how the pandemic had created the ideal conditions for retailers to invest more heavily in technology upgrades which, when coupled with advances in contactless payments, made it the perfect time and place for a digital transformation in the couponing space. At this point, we may be witnessing the right conditions for a revolution in customer targeting and digital identity as well.

Running parallel to the pandemic and sewing uncertainty in the advertising and marketing industry has been the death of the third-party cookie. It’s a topic that’s been the subject of countless predictions since Google GOOG +1.4% announced its plan to phase out the tracking identifier in 2019. Many marketers are taking the wait-and-see approach to see how this all shakes out while simultaneously attempting to set their businesses up for success once alternatives present themselves.

There are several underlying similarities between the digital evolution of mobile coupons and the phase out of third-party cookies. Many retailers stand to lose in the near term from the death of third-party cookies, especially within the realm of customer acquisition marketing and marketing attribution. The evolution of consumer tracking and identity, however, could prove to be a net win for the industry. Here’s why: READ MORE