How to Navigate the Phase Out of Third-Party Cookies Through DTC

What are third-party cookies?

The impact of the phase out of third-party cookies

Typically, ads are facilitated by third-party cookies that track a customer's internet activity, frequently without their consent or awareness of the monitoring. Brands can effectively reach their target audience, provide personalized content and measure the success of campaigns with third-party cookies. Approximately three quarters of brands are still using third-party cookies for advertising and tracking purposes. 

Therefore, the end of third-party cookies has had a significant impact on the digital advertising ecosystem - more than 75% of businesses anticipate negative effects from the discontinuation of third-party cookies and are urgently seeking alternatives. It is now evident that brands must revise their strategies to adapt to the change and address consumer data privacy concerns.

How brands can leverage first-party data through direct-to-consumer

Top tips for DTC brands preparing for a cookie-less future

Despite the challenging transition period, the phase-out of third-party cookies also presents an opportunity for companies to adopt more privacy-focused approaches to digital advertising. This shift of approach can ultimately benefit both consumers and brands by fostering a more transparent and trustworthy digital ecosystem. 

Brands should start to focus on building and maintaining direct customer relationships while protecting their privacy. They should be transparent about data usage and obtain explicit consent from customers, as the first step to building brand trust and a long-lasting relationship. 

The good news is, 76% of customers are willing to share their data if they can benefit from it, whether it be a personalized experience or perks. Brands can also create engaging surveys with incentives to supplement default-tracking first-party data. For instance, fashion brands can create a style quiz that collects customers' preferences on size, color, and pattern preferences to conduct targeted marketing accordingly. This can also benefit the on-site experience by personalizing product recommendations based on survey answers. 

Customers are increasingly comfortable sharing their data with businesses, however, they want to understand the value they can get in return and to have control over it. Brands should utilize this desire and factor it into future strategies to emphasize and leverage the mutually beneficial relationship between brand and consumer that can be enhanced by such data. 


At Ingenuity, we are specialists in leveraging first-party data gathered through DTC channels to build and grow brands at scale. We’ve done this successfully for 18 years, working with brands such as ELEMIS, Coca-Cola, Mondelēz and more to drive growth fueled by data. To discover how we could do the same for you, reach out to our experts here.