Third-party cookies have long powered digital advertising, but legitimate concerns about user privacy and data security have led to their demise. Enter a privacy-first world where traditional methods are illegal, leaving brands struggling with the prospect of reduced effectiveness. Targeting and insight capabilities now require more effort, expense, and capability investment. However, Amazon is a sleeping giant in this new landscape. Already a data powerhouse with a vast, engaged user base, Amazon offers unique advantages in this privacy-first world—it’s just a matter of having the skills to access it.
Cookies and the Shift to First-Party Data
Cookies are small scripts attached to a website or app. They collect data on users, such as the pages they visit, their location/IP, and the duration of their visit. Crucially, the distinction is who holds this data:
First-party (1P) cookies:
Collect and store data of users by the website owner. The collected data is typically called 1P data. This data provides in-depth insights into user journeys and consumer behaviour. This data is rarely traded as it’s painstakingly collected and incredibly valuable. Advertising targeting, tracking, and reporting systems can all use this data, but only on the original website.
Third-party (3P) cookies:
Allow multiple data collectors to track users across multiple websites/apps. A single website can have over 200 individual cookies from various sources unrelated to the original site. This 3P data is then traded and combined to create broader consumer profiles. However, the use of 3P data has raised significant privacy concerns around consent, as highlighted by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Google has decided to continue using 3P cookies despite multiple announcements of their phase-out. However, they are introducing plans to make it easier for users to completely opt out of 3P cookies and tracking. This approach mirrors Apple’s strategy before they fully deprecated 3P cookies. We anticipate that Google will follow a similar trajectory, gradually transitioning to a 3P-free internet.
With 3P phase-out still on the horizon, the focus must be on 1P data. Here, Amazon offers good news in a challenging environment.
Amazon’s Unique Advantages
Amazon stands out as the only platform to build effective brand-building tools on strong 1P transactional data. With entertainment platforms like Prime Video, Twitch, IMDb, Audible, and Amazon Music, Amazon has unparalleled insights into both entertainment and shopping preferences. As an online-first retail platform, it has a deep understanding of browsing habits, purchase intent and behaviour. Even when purchases don’t occur on Amazon, many shoppers use it for information gathering. There are about 400 million visits per month on the UK site.
Amazon currently dominates retail data insight and has recently introduced Ad Relevance. This AI-driven tool uses contextual and shopper signals to engage shoppers in a cookieless environment. Key advantages include:
Scale:
Amazon has about 90% household penetration in the UK. The Amazon platforms provide significant multi-path scale, reaching consumers at different need states and stages of the customer journey. Brands have access to trillions of video and static impressions. At the top of the funnel are over 20M entertainment viewers across channels like Prime Video and Twitch as well as partners like Discovery+ and Rakuten. In the middle of the funnel are over 40M UK Amazon accounts that visit the site daily. At the bottom is the UK’s number one product search engine, accounting for more than 60% of online UK product searches, surpassing Google.
Precision Targeting:
Amazon’s scale and consistent data collection from a single source enable precise targeting. For example, a brand can segment shoppers interested in exercise based on consistent exercise–related purchases. Within that they can identify shoppers for whom this is a new interest (new to category) versus those who may already own much of the kit they need. As a result the brand can then reach both segments with tailored video creatives.
Measurement Mastery:
Amazon offers direct sales attribution to marketing activity across touchpoints both on and off-platform through closed-loop reporting. Consequently ROI can be measured and campaigns optimized mid-flight. This is particularly important for smaller brands.
Data Anonymity and Security:
Amazon ensures consumer identity protection. Groups of shoppers must contain at least 2,000 unique users before they can be analysed or targeted, to ensure anonymity. Data storage is built on its AWS architecture, offering 300 security services to thousands of businesses.
Leveraging Amazon’s Data Powerhouse
Here are some tactics brands can use to leverage Amazon’s ad ecosystem:
Deepen Understanding of Your Customer:
By collecting first-party data and gaining good consumer insights, brands can better deploy Amazon Ads. These data can be combined with Amazon’s data through direct integrations with Data Management Platforms like Salesforce. This provides pseudonymized signal exchange to maximise ROI on available data/insights.
Maximise Amazon Search:
Spending on the Sponsored Ads platform (Search ads) ensures that brands convert demand already on Amazon for their brand. This type of investment helps brands stay top-of-mind at the point of sale, so it’s one of the most effective ad platforms available.
Engage with Amazon DSP:
With DSP you can reach the 99% of customers who are not in-market programmatically using Amazon’s first-party data. Combined with Sponsored Ads, DSP can maximise ROI via a full-funnel strategy.
Deploy Cross-Channel Strategies & Measurement:
Tools like Amazon Attribution and Amazon Tags ensure seamless measurement between platforms without creating new data silos. Additionally, tools like Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC), Brand/Sales lift studies, and Media Mix Modelling improve cross-channel measurement. They make it easier to establish the impact of broader marketing activations.
By following a data-centric approach and leveraging Amazon’s strengths, brands can thrive in a future that protects consumer privacy without sacrificing advertising efficiency and effectiveness.
The MinsterFB Sauce
MinsterFB brings 14 years of Amazon-focused experience to bear, powered by our in-house tech stack that informs all our strategic decisions. We deploy ads via a bespoke ad framework called the cell model to maximize ROI for all our clients. Our advertising experts undergo year-round training on the industry’s best practices across the full breadth of Amazon and Amazon Ads. We attend multiple brand immersion sessions to ensure we fully understand a brand and effectively represent it to Amazon shoppers. Most importantly, we structure our contracts based on sales results, so we only win when you win!
The Broader Context
Companies like COOP, PayPal, and Uber are announcing new commerce and retail media platforms almost every week. These businesses also have substantial first-party data and are offering access to enable advertisers to engage anonymously yet precisely.
However, Amazon, whilst highly valuable, is not the only fruit. Click through for a video featuring Ladi and Andy Parr discussing alternative solutions outside of Amazon to overcome the demise of third party cookies.