It’s been a long road getting here, but after four years of ups and downs, Google has finally decided to abandon its efforts to abolish third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser.

In this post, I’ll be asking what that means for us at SAP Emarsys, for our customers, and for the industry as a whole.

Our Advice to Marketers

For several years now, we’ve discussed a number of viable alternatives to cookies to target customers and personalize content. Going back as far as 2020, our advice to marketers has been simple and clear:

  • Prioritize your collection and use of owned, first-party data.
  • Build server-to-server integrations to keep total control over data you share.
  • Focus on permission-based marketing to allow greater control and consumer privacy.

Today, that advice doesn’t change.

Yes, the pressure is off from Google. Yes, there is no longer a hard deadline looming over the marketing industry. But those facts don’t change the incredible value that moving from third-party to first-party data can bring to your marketing campaigns.

Privacy Remains Priority

Regardless of Google’s decision, privacy remains essential to customers. In fact, our 2024 research shows that one in three consumers (37%) view maintaining control over their personal privacy as a top priority. Another third (32%) will stop buying from a brand they were previously loyal to if it fails to treat their data responsibly.

While Google may have moved away from the total abolition of cookies, it still refuses to recommend them as a reliable, privacy-first data source. As Anthony Chavez, vice president of Google’s Privacy Sandbox explains:

“{Google is} proposing an updated approach that elevates user choice. Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time.”

It’s that commitment to user choice and personal control that isn’t going away. If marketers are going to respect user privacy without sacrificing the control and choice that consumers rightfully expect, then the move towards a better alternative must continue at speed.

First-Party Data Continues to Deliver

For us, the obvious alternative is first-party data.

This data is the lifeblood of successful marketing. It’s the truest form of information about your customers because they gave it to you in confidence and in exchange for a promise of value. Whether it was exchanged for personalized discounts, unique content, or more rewarding experiences, the customer has made a conscious, informed choice to entrust you with that data. As a result, first-party data is more ethical by its very nature.

But it’s not just about what’s best for privacy-conscious consumers. First-party data is higher quality, more accurate, more relevant, and ultimately more cost effective than third-party cookies. It’s also more useful for complex tasks like personalizing customer engagements on owned properties such as websites, mobile apps, and email messages, providing more depth than the simple tracking offered by cookies.

Given these facts, if marketers treat Google’s decision as permission to return to cookies, then the quality, effectiveness, and ethics of their marketing will inevitably suffer.

At Emarsys, we won’t allow that to happen.

We will continue to use data in a responsible, reliable, and relevant way and will encourage all our customers and partners to do the same.

While there’s no denying Google’s decision will be a change of speed for the market, it cannot become a change in direction.

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