In this week's member-guest post, we hear from Amy Arnell, Content Marketing Specialist at Didomi, as she discusses preparing for a cookieless future and why it's time to make privacy a more positive priority.
It’s the end of the road for third-party cookies. Following Apple, Safari & Mozilla Firefox, Google announced it would stop supporting third-party cookies on its Chrome browser in 2022. Given that over 85% of online browsing is carried out on these platforms, significant change is imminent.
Trusted companies that embed privacy considerations into their long term planning stand to benefit. Business models of those that do not stand to become increasingly challenged.
What does a cookieless future mean in practice?
From Didomi’s perspective, the online advertising space will now be split into two distinct categories.
The first category is one without cookies, where it will be much harder to identify a user and to track navigation across the web and across devices.
The assumption that users are easily identifiable in their digital navigation will be gone. But, advertising won’t simply stop if you can no longer identify people. Rather, a reliance on cookies will be replaced by other techniques and advancements such as differential privacy.
The second of these two categories does still rely on user data, but with one all-important difference. It relies on first-party data that the user has consented to providing.
If users trust the company, they will consent to the use of their personal data. As such, the company will retain the ability to extract personal data, and, crucially, the ability to have more knowledge on its user base.
This is where Didomi places itself, as we believe that this scenario of trust illustrates the future of data collection. In our opinion, it’s time to turn privacy into something positive.
Privacy Made Positive™
Recently, Securys Limited commissioned Kantar to survey more than 4,000 consumers across Great Britain, Ireland, France and Germany about whether privacy impacts buying decisions and brand loyalty (survey sponsored by Didomi). The results were clear: consumers care about data privacy and are willing to act if a brand does not meet their expectations.
Over 85% of people across all countries say that they understand the meaning of personal data, and a high proportion are worried about how it is used (70% in England and France, 75% in Ireland).
This reflects in consumer habits. Around two-thirds of consumers modify their purchasing decisions in line with supplier privacy commitments; and some 70% in GB, France, and Ireland will not buy from a supplier if they are concerned about their privacy behaviour.
Users want to be informed about why their data is being collected, and they appreciate companies with transparent data practices.
Irrespective of the technology you use, or the sector you work in, consent and preference management will be hugely important in a cookieless world.
Didomi’s advice for navigating a cookieless world
Get used to having anonymous users & customers.
Technology is clearly moving in this direction, with announcements such as Apple’s iOS14 privacy features sending shockwaves across the industry.
This might be a bitter pill to swallow. But, after consideration, you’ll find out that it might not be that bitter after all. In fact, in the long run, getting used to having anonymous users and customers will be beneficial to your company, as it will allow you to focus on the data that really matters: consented data.
Trust and transparency will convince users to consent to the use of their personal data
The recent Privacy Made Positive™ research revealed that four-fifths of consumers believe that transparency is important for trusting a company or brand.
Complex consent choices, painful user experience and mistrust will have a huge impact on customer behaviour. Companies should build privacy-first consumer experiences to highlight that they care about transparency.
The end of third-party cookies will leave you totally blind to user behaviour, unless you adopt the method of “just ask”. Put your users in the driving seat. Rework your privacy policies for 100% clarity, and invest in better legal explainers.
Your ability to generate trust, and generate consent from your users will be directly linked to your ability to generate revenue. Therefore, consent rate should become a key KPI to follow.
How can your company prepare?
Change is imminent, and a system of trust and consent will mark the future of data collection.
So, how can your company prepare?
Take time to understand the data you are currently collecting
Take a step back, and reverse your way of thinking. Rather than frantically collecting massive amounts of data and then trying to make sense of it using AI or other technologies, try to understand where exactly you provide value to your customers by using their data, and focusing on this. Start investing in UX and transparency. If users know their data is being collected to provide them with a more optimised experience, they are much more likely to consent.
Fundamentally, the logic is very simple: It’s about data quality, not data quantity. This is the biggest adjustment in mindset that the industry will be forced to adopt.
Consider investing in bespoke consent and preference management technologies
Among the many innovative solutions, there are consent and preference management innovators like Didomi, who can help you build and maintain a powerful consent management infrastructure, creating tools for recording, storing and retrieving consent, and transmitting it to different partners when appropriate.
Didomi builds technology to help companies put their users in control of their personal data. By doing so, Didomi clients generate valuable trust and lay the groundwork for privacy-conscious growth.
Trust will be the foundation of future data collection, and the movement from data-driven marketing to customer-centric marketing will not only protect user rights, but encourage companies to collect high-value, good-quality data.
A cookieless world does not mark the end of data collection, but rather a new beginning. A new beginning in which privacy is made positive.
Download the e-book for the full results of the Privacy Made Positive™ research.
