New Study: Over One-Third of Business Professionals Not Ready for Third-Party Cookie Elimination

– 89% of consumers claim to pay attention to privacy practices, prioritizing data security over personalized content – 

PLUS: Website analytics emerge as the dominant data collection method for marketers with three-fourths acknowledging usage

DENVER, CO (January 3, 2024) – Adtaxi, one of the nation’s fastest-growing digital marketing agencies, today announced the results of its 2024 Privacy Survey. The results revealed pivotal insights into the current state of data privacy, shining a light on major challenges and opportunities for businesses and marketers alike. This comes as Google plans to phase out third-party cookies by Q3 of 2024 and many are left wondering what this means for digital marketing and privacy. 

“Digital marketers have known that the phase-out of third-party cookies has been coming, yet it is clear from the survey findings that not everyone is ready to make the jump to first-party data collection, with 27 percent of business professionals unaware the change is coming,” said Chris Loretto, EVP of Adtaxi. “While it is promising that the majority (62%) of businesses claim they are ready to face this change, none of the said majority stated they are very prepared. This means that 2024 will be a year of testing and trial as marketers navigate the unchartered waters.”  

The most cited strategy to replace information collected from third-party cookies is the potential use of alternative tracking technologies. Investing in first-party data collection secured the second-highest ranking, mentioned by 33% of respondents. However, a concerning finding is that one-third (33%) of data privacy professionals do not have an alternative method in mind.

Survey findings also point to website analytics as the dominant data collection method with an impressive three-quarters of respondents acknowledging its usage. Additional prominent approaches include examining customer purchase history and soliciting input through surveys and feedback mechanisms, endorsed by 50% or more of participants.

Among the survey’s key findings include:

Social Media Monitoring: The survey findings make it clear that businesses that utilize the platforms still misunderstand privacy on social media. Only 22% of primary responsibility holders acknowledged its use, revealing a misalignment with 56% of secondary responsibility holders and 75% with no responsibility.

Data Policy Reviews: While all companies review their data policies, there is a significant disparity in frequency. Over 7 in 10 respondents (71%) indicated a minimum annual review, with a majority conducting occasional policy reviews. The remaining 29% perform policy evaluations less than once a year.

Consumer Priorities: The survey findings show that consumers and companies value pre-purchase notices. An impressive 89% of online users pay attention to the collection of their personal data, preferring pre-purchase notices over digging through terms and conditions. Companies help with this by communicating data collection practices primarily through accessible policies on their websites and terms and conditions. The survey also underscores that companies are aligned with user privacy concerns and often offer opt-out measures. 

Adapting Policies for AI: While a significant majority of respondents (66%) are actively pursuing or planning changes to incorporate AI in their privacy policies, 38% express a desire to make adjustments, although they are not presently in the planning stages. Surprisingly, one in five respondents (19%) has no intention of making changes.

Pivoting Strategies: In the event of data privacy regulations limiting information gathering, a significant majority (74%) of data privacy professionals intend to augment their dependence on customer relations management programs. Marketing professionals plan to rely more on email marketing, with 73% expressing this intention.

“The survey shows that marketing professionals are concerned about the potential loss of consumer insights,” said Murry Woronoff, National Director of Research at Adtaxi. “Those in the industry unanimously recognize the value of user data for shaping marketing and advertising strategies. Respondents say their main concerns include difficulty in tracking ROI, assessing platform effectiveness, loss of competitive edge, and increased costs.”
For the full report, see here: https://www.adtaxi.com/landing/2401-mr-privacy/

Methodology

This survey was conducted online using Survey Monkey, among a sample of 1,137 adult respondents. The surveyed population is balanced across U.S. geographic regions, income levels, gender, and age. The survey was conducted on November 2, 2023.

About Adtaxi
Founded in 2010 within MediaNews Group, Adtaxi made its mark in programmatic advertising before expanding into search, social, and connected TV. Over time, Adtaxi has refined and perfected its holistic performance-based strategy, which became the foundation of Quantum, originally launched in 2015. Leveraging the power of people plus technology, Adtaxi’s innovative full-funnel methodology leverages a variety of tools and processes throughout the client lifecycle to drive omnichannel optimizations across channels to maximize performance and deliver superior value for advertisers. Adtaxi functions as a true partner with its clients, acting as a single point of contact and support through multi-platform campaign cycles. Find Adtaxi on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.