‘We’re still in the infancy of it’: How first-party data is shoring up for marketers as third-party cookie deprecation starts

The writing has been on the wall for years, but Google finally started turning off third-party cookies to 1 percent of Chrome browsers in January. Google insists they’ll disappear before the end of the year, but it’s unclear if the company will make good on its promise. Until then, marketers are prioritizing first-party data, either mining it to make up for the signal loss or peddling it as the rise of retail media continues. 

Overall, marketers have been apathetic about Google’s crumbling cookie all while testing alternatives and making bigger bets on first-party data. The amount of brands that are actively preparing for the end of the third-party cookie has jumped from 56% in Q1 of 2021 to 72% in Q2 of 2023, according to Digiday research.

“Because of the privacy laws and everything that’s going on with AI, we believe that brands will operate as ecosystems — their own walled gardens, if you will — and take the control back from the Google and Meta duopoly, and take that control with first-party data into their own ecosystems,” said Pat Goggin, partner and CEO, Morning Walk marketing agency. 

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