Google Keeps Third-Party Cookies: Why You Still Need First-Party Data

After years of delays, Google announced on 22 July 2024 that it is no longer planning to remove third-party cookies from Chrome. Instead, it proposed an approach that “elevates user choice”, letting people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing. Google said it will keep developing its Privacy Sandbox tools.

For advertisers, this sounds like good news. It is, partly. But it would be a mistake to treat it as a reason to stop improving your tracking.

Why your tracking is still fragile

• Safari and Firefox already block third-party cookies by default, and many Pakistani buyers in premium segments use iPhones.
• Apple’s App Tracking Transparency limits what Meta and others can see from iPhone app users.
• Ad blockers and browser privacy settings stop pixels from firing.
• Chrome’s new user-choice prompt may lead some users to switch cookies off anyway.

The result: your Meta and Google dashboards already miss a share of real sales. When ad platforms see fewer conversions, their algorithms optimise worse and your cost per order goes up.

What to do

1. Set up Meta Conversions API. It sends purchase and lead events from your server or store platform directly to Meta, alongside the pixel. Shopify and most WordPress e-commerce setups support it.
2. Turn on Google enhanced conversions. It uses hashed customer data (like email) from your checkout to match conversions more accurately.
3. Collect first-party data. Emails and phone numbers at checkout, with clear consent. This powers retargeting audiences, lookalikes and email flows.
4. Compare platform numbers with your store. Each week, compare orders in Shopify or WooCommerce with what Meta and Google report. If there’s a big gap, your tracking needs work.
5. Track COD properly. For cash-on-delivery stores, consider sending confirmed (not just placed) orders as a separate event, so you optimise for buyers who actually pay.

Our take

Cookies staying in Chrome buys time. It doesn’t change the direction: platforms reward advertisers who send them clean, first-party conversion data. Fix that now and you won’t care what happens to cookies next.