The advancement of modern technology has certainly changed how brands connect with their audiences, but it’s left many wondering if those changes were truly for the better.
Cookies, an online data collection tool used for tracking consumer behavior, are one of the latest topics of concern for marketers and consumers.
To better understand this, we spoke with Dan O’Leary, SEO strategist for OverIt Media, a full-service digital and traditional marketing agency.
Here are the major key points from our conversation:
What are cookies?
For many online shoppers, their depth of knowledge regarding cookies starts and stops at the pop-ups on their screens. Typically located at the bottom of the website, a cookies pop-up contains a brief amount of text and two buttons, giving consumers the option to accept or decline cookies tracking.
But not everyone knows what that means.
“A cookie is a very small file that is placed on your electronic device when you’re browsing the internet and going to certain websites. There are three parties [involved]: your hardware, your browser and the websites,” O’Leary said. “Their purpose is to tell the websites or stakeholders information about what you’re doing, so they fundamentally track your behavior.”
O’Leary says you can think of cookies as digital breadcrumbs. User behavior is filled with data on user movements as users navigate the website. Advertisers can follow that behavior using cookies to create a more tailed online experience for consumers.
First-Party vs Third-Party Cookies
Cookies are split into two categories: first-party and third-party cookies. While they are essentially doing the same thing, the difference lies in who has access to consumer information.
“A first-party cookie is a cookie installed on your computer by the site you’re on. These cookies are responsible for many of the features users are familiar with: your log-in, content customization, past purchases, etc,” said O’Leary.
Third-party cookies, however, aren’t as brand-focused. They hone in on content related to your interests and showcase various brands that deliver similar products and services.
“A third-party is a file placed on your computer when you’re on one website by a completely different source. Advertisers will see that you liked a certain piece of content and will be looking for ad slots to give you more advertisements like that.”
Because there’s little to no relationship between consumers and third-party advertisers, many online shoppers feel quite weary about how their digital habits are shared with outside sources.
“Third-party cookies tend to be the ones consumers have the most concern about. These are often [ads for] brands they have no familiarity with,” O’Leary said. “I think it’s one thing to be targeted by a brand you’ve opted-in to, they’ve sent you emails and they’ve texted you. But it’s another to get ads from a brand you know nothing about.”
In O’Leary’s opinion there are some very valid privacy concerns regarding cookies and just how much data is being collected. One overarching issue, he says, is that most consumers don’t have the bandwidth to recognize just what they’re dealing with.
“Most consumers or users of modern technology don’t really have a good understanding of what cookies are, how prevalent they are, or how many there are,” said O’Leary. “To my knowledge and satisfaction, there aren’t any good consumer resources for users to navigate these waters.”
Despite this sentiment, O’Leary also believes that cookies can be used to better the consumer experience when the shopping behaviors shared are low-risk.
“I think in certain contexts users will find even third-party cookies useful and relevant in their lives. [For example,] if I’m shopping for a pair of basketball shoes and someone can offer me a cheaper price, I’ll probably be compelled and thankful for you intruding on my privacy,” said O’Leary.
But not all online experiences are this black and white. For more delicate subjects, online monitoring can feel particularly invasive.
“Women search for all sorts of material related to their reproductive health and nowadays there are high levels of concerns about large corporations having access to this private, almost medical information,” said O’Leary. “There’s obviously a lot of things in between women’s reproductive health and basketball shoes. Consumers don’t have the ability to pick how cookies work. They either opt-out of cookies and see none of the benefits or they save ten dollars on shoes and corporations also get to see about _____.”
The future of targeted marketing
Given technology’s fast rate of progression, many marketers and consumers are now questioning just how morally sound it is for consumer behavior to be tracked online.
“We were taught not to talk to strangers when we were kids, but our digital lives weren’t handled the same,” said O’Leary. "Technology advanced so quickly, and what advertisers could do accelerated even faster, that a lot of companies are now taking a step back and asking, ‘Should we even do this?’ ”
And here lies an even larger question: If cookies are going away, what will marketers do to gain insight into consumer habits?
The answer, O’Leary says, is in one clear distinction — browsers are aggressively blocking third-party cookies, not first-party cookies. Brands will have to go back to the marketing channels that proved to be successful with consumers in the past.
“I don’t think brands are going to have to go back to the drawing board. I think they’re going to have to take one step back from the 18 steps they took forward,” said O’Leary. “For first-party cookies, [owners should] leverage their audience and do homework for themselves. There are emails, newsletters, SMS lists and loyalty programs. There are any number of ways to highly engage with your audience and get data from what they’re doing.”
The exact fate of cookies and consumer tracking may be unknown, but marketers and consumers can find solace in knowing that online shopping solutions are still available. Cookies provided a glimpse into just how far technology can go; in its wake, marketers will have to keep consumer privacy at the forefront of their plans.
