Google Abandons Plans to Eliminate Third-Party Cookies
After years of delay, Google says it will no longer cancel and replace third-party cookies for its internet browser Chrome, reports CNBC. Cookies are used by advertisers to track users across multiple sites and deliver targeted ads. In 2020, Google said it would end support for those cookies by early 2022 once it figured out how to address the needs of users, publishers and advertisers and come up with tools to ease workarounds; however, the company pushed back the timeline several times. In a blog post on Monday, Google said it has received feedback, from both advertisers and regulators, that informed its latest decision to cancel the plan to kill off third-party cookies in its browser. Google has opted to introduce a new browsing experience in Chrome instead, offering users informed choices about their data privacy settings.
Total Retail's Take: Laggards who had yet to find a solution to the impending cookie-less future are surely sighing with relief at Google's announcement. The elimination of cookies on Google's Chrome browser has been talked about with much trepidation since the company announced its plans back in 2020. The digital advertising community, including retail and brand marketers, has been scrambling to find workarounds ever since, resulting in new technology that doesn't rely on cookies to track and target consumers with personalized ads based on previous behaviors. Many retailers have already switched entirely or partially to first- or zero-party data strategies in preparation for the elimination of third-party cookies, so while the announcement probably relieves some stress, it may no longer have as much of an impact on many businesses as they have already pivoted.
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Kristina Stidham is the digital content director at Total Retail and sister brands Women in Retail Leadership Circle and Women Leading Travel & Hospitality at NAPCO Media. She is passionate about digital media and handles video, podcast and virtual event production for all brands. You can often find her at WIRLC, TR, WLT&H or industry events with her camera and podcasting equipment—or at home on Zoom—recording interviews with thought leaders and business executives.
Kristina holds a B.A. in Media Studies and Production from the Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication in Philadelphia. Go Owls! When she's not in the office, she loves to go on long walks, sing around the house, hangout with her family and two pet guinea pigs, and travel to new places.
