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Atlanta, GA – April 19, 2022 – Cardlytics, Inc., (NASDAQ: CDLX), an advertising platform in banks’ digital channels, today announced that its first quarter ended March 31, 2022 financial results will be released on Monday, May 2, 2022, after market close. The company will host a conference call and webcast at 5:00 PM (ET) / 2:00 PM (PT) to discuss the company’s financial results.

A live audio webcast of the event will be available on the Cardlytics Investor Relations website at http://ir.cardlytics.com/.

A live dial-in will be available at (866) 385-4179 (domestic) or (210) 874-7775 (international). The conference ID number is 8338158. Shortly after the conclusion of the call, a replay of this conference call will be available through 8:00 PM ET on May 9, 2022 at (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international).  The replay passcode is 8338158.

About Cardlytics

Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX) is a digital advertising platform. We partner with financial institutions to run their rewards programs that promote customer loyalty and deepen relationships. In turn, we have a secure view into where and when consumers are spending their money. We use these insights to help marketers identify, reach, and influence likely buyers at scale, as well as measure the true sales impact of marketing campaigns. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cardlytics has offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Detroit and Visakhapatnam. Learn more at www.cardlytics.com.

In 2021, apparel retail and online sales recovered to pre-pandemic levels as previously sheltered consumers began shopping once again. Consumer spending levels recovered from a record sales plunge and gradually increased from January to April, but then had a sharp spike with the availability of vaccines. Spend then held strong throughout the remainder of the year.  

With consumers returning to the store to shop, you may be surprised to learn how much they’re spending on apparel this year – Consumer spend grew to $57.8 billion up from $44 billion last year, slightly rebounding from $57.6 billion in 2019.  

But what are the actual trends driving this growth? 

Key Takeaways for 2021 Apparel Trends 

• Despite being hit hard by the pandemic, the apparel category has surpassed 2019 spend levels 
• Average basket size is the strongest contributing factor to the increase 
• The branded, discount, and athleisure categories are the standouts in terms of share and sales growth 

• Apparel spend is returning in-store (v. online) 

Shop less, spend more  

Shopping trips overall are down, and fewer consumers are buying apparel (-6.8% vs. 2019), but don’t despair, there is room for optimism! Even with fewer consumers, shoppers are buying in greater quantities. The average basket size is the strongest contributing factor to the increase in apparel sales, up 13.4% compared to 2019. It’s fair to say shoppers today are extremely valuable. 

So, what are they buying? 

We’ve gathered some of the top trends for the apparel industry to uncover what’s driving growth and which categories are full of opportunity for recovery:  

• Branded, athleisure, and discount retailers are the real winners to date in terms of share and sales growth.  
• Department stores, shoes, and children’s apparel haven’t fully rebounded to 2019 spend levels. 

• The shoes and athleisure categories are attracting more new customers than all other apparel sub-categories. 

Where are the spenders spending?  

By now, it’s pretty clear that while consumers were stuck at home during the height of the pandemic, online shopping became increasingly popular. Even with a digitally transformed shopping experience, shoppers rediscovered the joy of shopping in-store as share of spend slowly returned to in-store channels.  

The takeaway 

The state of the apparel industry is never static, but the changes over the past two years have been especially dramatic. Every shift and every new trend creates another opportunity for brands to grow, but only if they can learn how to change, too.  

Cardlytics allows its brand partners the opportunity to reach real people at a time when they are already thinking about their finances. In return, these consumers receive cash back on places where they already shop, or an opportunity to discover new brand to love. Partner with us to leverage insight into new apparel spending habits and increase your share of wallet amongst crucial apparel customers. 

Learn how we deliver incremental return on ad spend by contacting us today to access a free advertising opportunity assessment and gain valuable insights into your customers and competitors! 

Most people don’t know the name Lou Montulli but he’s indirectly responsible for one of the biggest invasions of privacy of the modern era. In 1994, Montulli was a 23-year-old founding engineer at Netscape with a number of Internet innovations to his credit, including web browsers, HTTP proxying, and the infamous tracking cookie. 

Montulli never imagined the privacy issues that would arise from the cookie. The Netscape founders were extremely privacy-focused, as were most early Internet pioneers. When Montulli created the cookie to help a single website remember a particular user from visit to visit, he believed the small text file it contained would not allow users to be tracked. 

As history shows, that was definitely not the case. In record time, ad tech companies figured out how to hack the cookies and track users from site to site as they browsed the Internet. 

Nearly 30 years later, ad tech has become increasingly stealthy and sophisticated in its ability to collect consumers’ most intimate personal information, often without their explicit consent. But the war between privacy advocates and the $120 billion digital advertising industry may be at an end. With Google’s latest timeline for privacy milestones, third-party cookies will disappear completely in 2023. The privacy advocates prevailed and the era of cookieless advertising has arrived. 

The switch to consent-based data collection represents a significant change for consumers and advertisers alike. Although Google continues to work on third-party cookie alternatives, no viable replacement is on the immediate horizon. Given the profound implications of a cookieless future, it’s worth looking at how we got here.

How the cookie became so important

In the early days of the Internet, websites had a memory problem. They lacked a mechanism to recognize a returning user. It was a disaster from a user-experience perspective. Many of the features people take for granted today—shopping carts that remember our selections, websites that remember our login credentials and site preferences—couldn’t exist without Montulli’s cookie invention. 

When advertisers figured out how to exploit cookies for revenue, the problem was more nuanced than it first appeared. At the time, advertising was the only source of revenue for most websites. Robust ecommerce was years in the future. So advertising was the only way to monetize websites and essentially keep the whole Internet in business. 

The underlying exchange—free content for a limited amount of advertising—was nothing new. Radio and TV operated on a similar system. The problem was the extensive data collection and privacy implications, as you can see from the following timeline of events. 

The reign of the third-party cookie

Once Google bought DoubleClick, the Internet became the wild, wild west for third-party cookies. Without regulatory oversight, ad tech companies became ever more aggressive in their data collection tactics. They went beyond online behavior and location to personal information like age, gender, income, health status, and even, in some highly unethical cases, keystrokes. 

The concept of Internet privacy was dying on the vine. Despite the 2002 ePrivacy Directive requiring websites to inform users about data collection activities and allow them to opt out, many sites did not allow users to block cookies. The objective for ad tech was to collect and monetize as much detailed personal information as possible. 

The tracking frenzy finally caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Union (EU). In 2012, the FTC slapped a record-breaking $22.5 million penalty on Google for misrepresenting their tracking activities on Apple’s Safari browser. The EU passed Directive 2109, also known as the Cookie Law, which led to the ubiquitous cookie consent popups on websites. 

Big Tech also stepped up to give consumers more control over their data. Both Apple and Mozilla enabled third-party ad blocking on their browsers, and later, disabled third-party cookies altogether. Google Chrome, the leading browser, was the only holdout. 

In 2008, Cardlytics launched its native ad platform. Cardlytics was a new solution to the privacy needs of the moment. Because it operated within the digital channels of major financial institutions and used first-party purchase data obtained with consent, it offered advertisers an ethical approach to targeted campaigns. 

Internet privacy hits mainstream

Whether due to the flurry of legislation or the collective shock of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in 2019, Big Tech finally stepped up to protect consumer privacy. Apple and Mozilla took the lead, giving users maximum control over cookies in their browsers. Apple’s Intelligent Tracking Prevention not only disabled third-party cookies, but it also gave users control over their first-party cookies for the first time. 

Google was the last to the privacy party but it, too, is phasing out support for third-party cookies in 2023.

What’s coming in 2022 and beyond?

There’s a lot of apocalyptic messaging about the future of cookieless advertising. The Interactive Advertising Bureau projects that cookieless advertising will cost publishers $10 billion in revenue while Google estimates they’ll lose 50% to 70% of their ad revenue. 

The developers at the Privacy Sandbox, Google’s initiative to replace third-party cookies with privacy-conscious alternatives, are working on a set of API solutions. Although Google’s Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC) was paused, other options are still on offer. Turtledove, for example, is designed to enable granular retargeting on an individual level. SPARROW will allow advertisers to create lookalike campaigns built around interests. FLEDGE will help them target specific user cohorts. 

All of these are still in development, however, so their features and future functionality are uncertain.
The bad news is that 75% of marketers believe cookie deprecation will negatively impact their business, and nearly 80% haven’t tested an alternative solution. The good news is that organizations still have more than a year to develop and implement a plan before Google pulls the plug on third-party cookies in late 2023.

The future of cookieless advertising is in flux. Cardlytics offers a proven solution for precision targeting that doesn’t rely on third-party cookies. Get in touch to learn more.

Google may have delayed the ultimate death of the cookie, but that doesn’t mean marketers can breathe easy. Brands have relied on third-party cookies for behavioral targeting and remarketing campaigns for decades. Change won’t come easy. 

There’s no plug-and-play replacement for third-party data on the horizon. Even though Google is putting the final nail in the cookie coffin, Apple and Firefox banished their use years ago. The heightened awareness around ethical data collection and privacy concerns means brands will need new ways to segment and activate their audience. 

That’s where loyalty programs come in. Strong brand loyalty programs are built on first-party customer insights, and present a wealth of opportunity to grow your data assets for targeted campaigns. If a loyalty program isn’t part of your marketing strategy today, read on to find out why it should be. 

The brave, new cookieless world

There’s no avoiding the fact that cookie deprecation will have a major impact on the way brands implement and manage marketing campaigns. Third-party cookies were the gateway to targeting consumers—observing the websites they visited, the products they bought, and even their interests and affiliations. 

They also enabled accurate campaign measurement and attribution. Brands could track conversions to a particular ad and have deep visibility into ROAS. Cookie deprecation puts an end to reliable multi-touch attribution models.

With the fall of reliable multi-touch attribution, marketers need a way to make sure they have accurate, repeatable, and affordable ways to measure the incremental impact and return of ad spend on each channel.  

Brand loyalty programs can be a treasure trove of insights

While consumers view unauthorized third-party data collection with disdain, they are typically willing to volunteer personal data for something of value. A recent YouGov poll showed that 88% of US adults would happily share personal information with brands if they received discounts, free products, or rewards in return. 

That makes brand loyalty programs the perfect vehicle to collect meaningful, and accurate, customer insights at scale as part of a value exchange. Because loyalty programs are designed to cultivate repeat customers, the insights they generate can be used to enhance personalization efforts and build a better customer experience. 

Of course, the pivot toward loyalty programs as a way to replace third-party data requires some agility in marketing tactics. The ‘awareness to conversion’ journey must be replaced by a ‘conversion to advocacy’ journey to maximize the program’s value. While a brand’s most loyal customers make up just 20 percent of its audience, they typically generate up to 80 percent of its revenue. 

Brands can use a rewards program to build a loyalty bridge that turns their best customers into advocates. A properly designed and executed loyalty program is a powerful owned-media channel that builds engagement, grows market share, and drives sales. 

Accelerating brand loyalty programs with Cardlytics 

Most brands have a good grasp of who their customers are when they’re making a purchase with them, but they lose visibility once the transaction is complete. Brands have no idea, for example, what share they’re getting of a particular customer’s category spend or just how loyal their ‘loyal’ customers really are. Without that insight, they run the risk of spending money where there is no headroom.

Because Cardlytics partners with top financial institutions, we have a “whole wallet” view of consumers, with insights into how, when, and where  they spend both in and out of the store. Armed with this first-party data, brands can deliver targeted offers to their most loyal customers, increasing their lifetime value. They can also re-engage lapsed customers with compelling offers designed to turn them into loyal fans, thus expanding market share.

It’s a win-win for brands and customers. Brands have more efficient use of ad spend with the same or better visibility into performance as third-party cookie campaigns. Customers get reward offers that make them feel valued, increasing their loyalty as a result. 

Brands with loyalty programs are a giant leap ahead when it comes to a cookieless future. That’s because responsibly managed first-party data will become the only path for brands to grow their audience, market share, and sales once the cookie crumbles.

Get in touch to learn more about how partnering with Cardlytics can turbocharge your loyalty efforts and increase sales. 

Brands have been implementing cookies to track website visitors, gather data that helps target ads to the right audiences, and improve customer experiences for years. Marketers also use cookies to learn what else customers view online when they aren't on their website.

But that'll all change dramatically, with Google planning to phase out the third-party cookie by 2023. Google's original announcement indicated that "users are demanding greater privacy—including transparency, choice, and control over how their data is used—and it's clear the web ecosystem needs to evolve to meet these increasing demands."

So, if your advertising strategy relies on third-party cookies, it's time to consider alternatives. That's where Cardlytics comes in. Let's start by looking at how Cardlytics works and why we're the privacy-safe solution.

Key takeaways:

• Learn more about Cardlytics and how it works
• An explanation of how Cardlytics is a privacy-safe solution
• Learn more about how Cardlytics is your answer to the deprecation of third-party cookies

How Cardlytics works

Engage customers through targeted advertising

Cardlytics allows you to engage customers through targeted advertising in a one-of-a-kind native ad platform. We integrate ads within online, mobile, and email channels at top financial institutions in the US and UK. And the best news is that our ads only reach verified adults who actively manage their money.

That's because bots don't have bank accounts. Our ads provide real value to customers with targeting based on past purchase history. They also act as the critical tipping point for purchase.

Measure campaign performance

We also close the loop with actual transaction data. Our team measures campaign performance, reporting online and in-store sales down to the penny. Best-in-class test versus control proves the incremental sales impact of our campaigns. Results can also be independently verified by Nielsen Sales Lift Measurement.

The power of Purchase Intelligence(™)

Finally, Cardlytics customers enjoy the power of Purchase Intelligence. We have a complete view of consumer spending through our partnerships with top banks, including purchases made with your competitors. This Purchase Intelligence is foundational to everything we do—our team helps brands like yours understand where, when, and how people buy.And the best part—these are real insights from over 170M real consumers. As a result, Cardlytics has visibility into one out of every two card swipes in the US, equating to more than $3.3T in consumer spending annually. Then, we analyze the data for Cardlytics customers to develop actionable insights.

How is Cardlytics the privacy-safe solution?

User privacy has always been a part of the Cardlytics DNA. Beginning our journey as a partner to financial institutions required an intense focus on protecting sensitive data and respecting usage limits as a trusted platform.

As we've grown and expanded our product offering, we've maintained that focus on user privacy. At the same time, our team has also found unique and respectful ways to bring the insights from our expansive dataset into the hands of Cardlytics customers.

We only see a consumer as an ID number and never receive their personally identifiable information (PII). That way, absolutely no PII is transferred between Cardlytics and our partners—it's all anonymous. And the good news is that Google's announcement does not impact how we measure, report, or use cookies for performance validation.

We also use only first-party purchase data from our partners to target and serve content within our native advertising platform. As a result, Cardlytics does not require third-party information to operate our platform. In addition, we don't make our audiences available on any other medium, making Cardlytics the privacy-safe solution.

Why 3rd party cookies are a privacy issue

While brands find 3rd party cookies beneficial when it comes to targeting audiences and increasing sales, there are privacy concerns. For example, because 3rd party cookies are hosted by an ad server, consumers can’t consent to them. That is a concern because they allow companies to track a consumer’s online behavior, thus enabling them to target them with specific goods or services.

The death of third-party cookies is coming. Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari have already banned them, and Google says it'll block them on Chrome in 2023. That's why it's vital to rethink how you'll connect with consumers. To identify new and not-so-loyal customers now, Cardlytics provides a powerful solution because we identify opportunities for sales growth through Purchase Intelligence.

Our robust AI and dozens of analysts have insight into where and when customers buy online and in-store. Becoming a Cardlytics customer means you can answer crucial questions that inform business decisions. Our first-party purchase intelligence data remains reliable, actionable, and protected.Undoubtedly, working with Cardlytics can help you better reach the right audience with more relevant offers in a third-party cookie-free world. So, what are you waiting for? Contact us today for more information about becoming a Cardlytics customer and how we can help exponentially grow your sales.

The road ahead for the luxury shopping market looked a little dicey in 2020. With restrictions on both in-store shopping experiences and travel, sales plummeted by as much as 68% in some areas. As months went by and the global COVID-19 pandemic endured, nervous CEOs cautiously planned for the future of their brands.

As we look back on 2021, many voices in the industry wondered if luxury spend would recover. We now know the answer is a definite, "yes" as luxury spending for 2021 recovered and surpassed 2019's pre-pandemic numbers by 27%.

Key Takeaways:

• 2021 luxury spending recovered and exceeded 2019 levels.
• Average order value (AOV) led sales growth, supported by an increased trip count and eager customers to see some return to normalcy.
• Luxury shoppers still prefer in-person shopping experiences, despite initially embracing e-commerce at the pandemic's beginning.
• High-frequency customers drive the majority of luxury sales.

A rough 2020 leads to an astounding 2021

Luxury retail industry trends have been up and down–hitting rock bottom in March 2020 with a 68% drop as a global pandemic gripped the fears of shoppers around the world. And on top of that downturn, we watched stores temporarily close, and shoppers become reluctant to visit those stores that were open.

We also saw an abrupt halt to international travel, accounting for up to one-third of all luxury sales. Global travelers enjoy the allure of buying authentic luxury where it's made, so it felt like the luxury shopping industry would become strategically dismantled.

Some shoppers were giving luxury online shopping a try, but the industry outlook was bleak. Low retail sales left luxury brands buried in extra inventory–a problem that disproportionately hurts luxury brands. The fundamentals of supply and demand illustrate that when inventory is high, pricing is low.

Luxury brands rely on exclusivity, so typical retail tactics like steep discounts only work to devalue the brand. These brands knew the road would get bumpy; they braced for the worst but came out of the pandemic pleasantly surprised.

Luxury spending saw the first signs of recovery in June 2020, when the data began trending upward. Progress was slow at first, and both retailers and luxury brands anxiously watched as trip counts and average order volume steadily rose.

By the end 2021, cushioned by a healthier holiday spending season, luxury spend trends outperformed even the most optimistic predictions with $2.2B in growth. Luxury retail trends are showing promise for a strong and stable recovery, but it hasn't been equally distributed.

Luxury markets are prone to polarization. Luxury shopping is about authenticity, status, and self-esteem. Some brands–and products, are simply better at filling that need for consumers.

AOV tells the story

So, were consumers compensating for their feelings of pandemic-driven isolation and fear in 2021, or is this genuine growth? The story is in the data. Let's look at the factors contributing to the unexpected boom in luxury spending habits.

Cardlytics' first-party data identified average order volume (AOV) as the largest driver of increased spending. This means that shoppers were simply buying more on each shopping trip. There was also a notable increase in customer trips in 2021 compared to data from 2019, which supported the AOV-led growth.

A deep dive into the data shows luxury spending statistics on AOV took a nose-dive in the first two weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. The average sale dropped from $308 to $175. And, at the lowest point, it dropped to $167 in May of 2020 before beginning a slow climb towards recovery. By the holiday shopping season, AOV was up–way up. By the end of 2021, the annual average had reached $350 per trip.

While e-commerce has been a big driver of change in other markets, luxury shopping was less affected before the pandemic. The in-store experience plays a pivotal role in what brings shoppers to luxury brands. The smell and touch of authentic, high-quality leather can't be replicated in a digital environment–at least not yet.

And a big part of the self-esteem boost that shoppers receive comes from being pampered by personal shoppers while strolling across shiny marble floors.

Luxury retail saw a spike in online shopping when mandates and public health concerns forced the hand of consumers, but it was temporary appeasement. As restrictions eased, shoppers returned to the stores in droves, craving that luxury shopping experience.

The data shows that the mix of shoppers in the store and online is about the same for 2021 as it was before the pandemic; let's take a look:

• 2019 Spending Mix: 57% in-store and 43% online.
• 2020 Spending Mix: 47% in-store and 53% online.
• 2021 Spending Mix: 57% in-store and 43% online.

While the mix shifted back in favor of in-person shopping, the volume of online sales for luxury brands is still significant. The digital age provides a valuable opportunity to connect with new consumers differently.

As we look towards the next year, online sales are anticipated to grow–leaving luxury brands with dual commitments to extend the same level of luxury service both in-person and online.

Must-Have Luxury Goods with the Most Growth in 2021

Luxury retail performance can be unpredictable even in a strong market because brand affinity has always been tied to public perception. A new era of socially-conscious consumers is now more powerful than ever before in determining which brands are in–and which ones are out. This provides some insight into luxury spending growth in 2021.

As surprised as many luxury brands were by this growth, many are eager to know where consumer spending is increasing. The top-performing categories included women's and children's apparel, jewelry, and accessories. Across the retail industry, luxury and value brands saw the most growth in 2021, attracting renewed interest and inviting disruption from new competitors.

For one, Amazon has entered the market in big ways–first, they opened their Common Threads storefronts to showcase the work of individual designers, and then they launched a luxury brands mobile app exclusively for Prime members.

Previously untouchable brand opportunities are back on the market, and like-it-or-not, the luxury retail sector is embracing new ways to connect with customers in a digital world.

The luxury shopping market is evolving

Two more critical pieces of data that will shape the future of luxury retail trends are consumer base and loyalty. Overall, the number of luxury shoppers has increased 2% since 2019. It seems that more consumers are craving authentic experiences that only luxury brands can deliver.However, there's a catch–a new generation of consumers are showing less brand loyalty overall. They're not just looking for a brand name—consumers are looking for values alignment and are willing to shop where they can get what they want.

As much as 65% of customers making multiple luxury purchases are shopping with two or more different brands. This means that quality and reputation only go so far–even in the luxury goods market. Brands face more pressure to cultivate and maintain customer relationships as we move beyond the pandemic.

What to expect in 2022

Luxury brands can expect to see trends in continued growth. Data-driven predictions on consumer spend are modeling an anticipated growth of 25% compared to 2019, outperforming non-luxury sectors by as much as five times the growth.

There will always be a strong market for bargain hunters and value-minded shoppers, but only the luxury retail market is forecasted with significant growth for the coming year.

The market is ripe with opportunity for brands that are able to keep pace with consumer needs and remain relevant in a changing world. Modern shoppers expect the convenience of omnichannel accessibility–interacting with brands when and how they choose.

Shoppers demand values alignment on important issues like sustainability and inclusivity. And at the same time, they expect the same level of luxe quality goods and services that define the luxury shopping experience.

From technology to social responsibility, luxury brands have more on their plate than ever before. The good news is, Cardlytics can help. Learn about how we can provide you with invaluable data-driven insights to help shape your marketing strategy and align your brand for growth.

Google’s 2020 announcement that it would ban the use of third-party cookies in 2022 made big waves for both consumers and digital marketers. Cookie privacy isn’t a new concern—Apple’s Safari and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers have been blocking cookies for almost a decade. But the news that Google planned to follow suit rocked the industry. 

That’s because Google Chrome is by far the most popular browser, accounting for over 63 percent of all global web traffic. Apple’s 20 percent and Mozilla’s 4 percent pale in comparison to Google’s tracking power. It’s no wonder that the latest move by Google has been hailed as the death of the third-party cookie. 

Google’s capitulation suggests that the cookie battle may finally be over and that privacy advocates are the de facto winners. But that means big changes for advertisers. What does that future look like? And how do privacy-safe solutions like Cardlytics’ “whole wallet” view provide the same impact for marketers without sacrificing consumer privacy?

What are third-party cookies?

Cookies are a bit of JavaScript embedded in a website that stores data about a particular browsing session. Cookies come in two main flavors, first-party and third-party. 

First-party cookies are created by the host domain (think GoDaddy, Hostgator and WPEngine) to help create a better experience for the user. They store data like website preferences, usernames, passwords, and shopping cart contents. First-party cookies are generally considered ‘good’ cookies and don’t draw the ire of privacy advocates.

Third-party cookies, on the other hand, are not created by the website a user is visiting, but by other entities such as marketers, advertisers, and social media platforms. Cookies can be placed on multiple sites allowing the tracking entity to create a holistic picture of a user’s activity on the web.

What do third-party cookies do?

Third-party cookies collect an impressive amount of information about users. Cookies track information about search requests, page visits, time on page, purchase decisions, even social media ‘likes.’ 

But that’s just the beginning. Cookies can also help advertisers pool data such as age, gender, occupation, income, location, payment types, and interests to create highly detailed user profiles. 

This type of tracking can be incredibly intrusive because most users feel that they haven’t given advertisers explicit permission to collect so much personal data. 

Privacy concerns with third-party cookies

Cookies aren’t inherently bad and, in fact, about 95 percent of all websites use cookies for relatively harmless purposes that ensure a returning visitor has a seamless experience. 

The problem is that ad networks track and store incredible amounts of information, including personally identifiable information. Because they place cookies on a massive variety of sites, they may have access to sensitive information such as medical history, sexual orientation and gender identity, and even political affiliation. Even more troubling is that this information is likely linked to the user’s real name.

Privacy as a human right

Third-party cookie tracking is ubiquitous and all-encompassing; it’s become a central pillar of modern digital advertising. The privacy implications are obvious and enormous. In just the past 10 years, massive data breaches have exposed billions of users’ private information, much of it collected and stored through the use of cookies, often without the user’s knowledge or explicit permission. 

Few privacy violations rocked the collective conscience like the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal. Prior to the 2016 elections, political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested vast swathes of Facebook user data and used it on behalf of political campaigns to help shape voting behavior. 

While most Facebook users were peripherally aware that the social media company collected personal data, few had any inkling of the scope and detailed nature of the information Facebook stored. Even worse, they had no idea that using certain apps on the platform gave the app developer access to the personal data of all their Facebook friends. 

For many, the Cambridge Analytica scandal was a watershed moment that galvanized privacy advocates and brought privacy as a human right to the forefront. As a result, consumers are becoming more savvy about cookie tracking and the information they are willing to share.

Tech steps up

Regulators and legislators have been trying to tame the third-party cookie beast since the dawn of the 21st century. The EU passed a series of e-privacy directives under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the ‘cookie law.’ Several states in the US passed similar privacy protection laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These measures are designed to bring more transparency to third-party data collection and cookie-based privacy issues.

A few forward-thinking tech CEOs championed the cause of cookie privacy, taking the lead in giving consumers control over their data. Apple CEO Tim Cook was among the first to give Safari users the ability to block third-party tracking in 2012. Apple remains at the forefront of privacy. Its latest iOS 14.5 rollout includes features that provide deep transparency into the type of tracking that takes place on consumers’ devices and the ability to opt out at the site and app level. 

Apple has forced other major tech companies to change their approach to cookie privacy. Facebook launched a very public PR war against Apple, claiming Apple’s privacy protections will harm businesses that rely on cookie-based advertising. The spat underscores the fundamental tug-of-war between profit and privacy; iOS 14 threatens the $86 billion in targeted ad revenue Facebook generates each year.

Google’s upcoming cookie phase-out is also likely at least partly due to Apple’s privacy protection rollout. Whatever the impetus behind the change, however, Google’s new cookie policy represents a sea change for marketers who’ve relied for years on cookie-based targeting.

The coming cookieless future

Ready or not, the death of third-party cookies is imminent. While marketers should be prepared for some disruption, a cookieless future presents an opportunity for brands to be on the forefront of more transparent, privacy-friendly solutions that win consumers’ trust.

Cardlytics has always been ahead of the cookie privacy debate. Our platform uses relevant, first-party insights obtained from one in every two credit card swipes and combines it with powerful Purchase Intelligence built on real transactions from real banking customers.

A cookieless future doesn’t have to mean an end to targeted campaigns. Cardlytics helps you reach the right audience with the right offer without compromising privacy.

Marketers entered 2022 with the haunting specter of a cookieless future on the horizon. While Google’s ambitious cookie deprecation timeline has now been pushed back to mid-2023, the fact remains that marketers have very little time to reinvent their marketing strategies to accommodate the death of the cookie. 

Here’s a look at what to expect in the next 18 months and what you can do now to position yourself for success when third-party cookies go away.

Upcoming changes to third-party cookies

Apple incorporated fledgling Internet Tracking Prevention (ITP) in its Safari browser in 2017. ITP has been revised multiple times in the intervening years as ad tech companies found new ways to work around the algorithm. 

In 2021, Apple released its strictest ITP yet with iOS 15. While iOS 14.5 switched on cookie-blocking protections across all browsers—not just Safari—by default, iOS 15 added email privacy and app tracking transparency (ATT) to further limit third-party data collection. Major advertising platform are already feeling the effects, with Facebook suggesting these privacy updates have contributed to a projected $10B in lost ad revenue. 

Google plans to follow through with its commitment to cookie deprecation, albeit on a longer timeline than originally promised. During the first half of the year, Google plans to work with developers and regulators to devise alternatives to the existing cookie-based system. 

By late 2022, once new APIs are launched in Chrome and testing is complete, advertisers and publishers can begin migrating their services. This first stage is expected to last about nine months, during which time Google will review feedback and make any necessary adjustments. 

Stage two is expected to begin in mid-2023 and last three months. During this stage, Google will phase out all third-party cookies.

Evaluating your martech stack, customer marketing, and marketing strategy

Third-party cookies fuel most aspects of programmatic and digital advertising. Cookie deprecation will impact most of the tactics marketers rely on for effective campaigns:

• Behavioral advertising- Without data obtained from third-party cookies, marketers will no longer be able to create the detailed profiles they need for targeted campaigns. 

• Retargeting- Third-party cookies allow ads to follow users from site to site. Cookie deprecation will diminish the effectiveness of retargeting campaigns and limit the ability to redirect traffic to a preferred site.

• Audience extension- This tactic, similar to lookalike targeting, will no longer be possible without third-party cookies to help marketers find similar audiences across the Internet.

• Frequency capping- Cookie deprecation will reduce media efficiency because advertisers will no longer be able to limit the number of times an ad is shown to a particular user.

Perhaps worst of all, no more cookies means no more view-through attribution to help marketers gauge the performance of their marketing mix. Without view-through attribution, marketers are spending in the dark with little to no visibility into the most effective channels and campaigns.

After the cookie crumbles: Managing the change

The bad news for marketers is that there are a lot of unknowns with a cookieless future. The good news is there is plenty of time to explore your options and develop a new strategy to avoid disruption. A few things to consider:

The coming cookieless future presents new challenges for marketers, but new, ethical options like Cardlytics’ first-party Purchase Intelligence™ are emerging to help bridge the gap. Ultimately, cookie deprecation presents an opportunity for brands to take the lead by giving customers an experience built on trust and transparency.

1. Focus on amplifying your first-party data

Implement robust first-party data collection mechanisms so you can target and personalize campaigns for users who have already engaged with your brand. Make sure your data collection is fully compliant with any applicable laws and communicate clearly with your customers about what information you are collecting and how you will use it. Consent-based data collection is no longer simply a legislative and regulatory imperative, it’s a way brands can gain trust with their customers.

2. Explore the walled gardens

With the death of third-party cookies, the aggregate but highly granular data collected from logged-in users by Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Cardlytics offer an alternative way for marketers to run highly targeted campaigns.

3. Rethink contextual targeting

Today’s contextual targeting is highly sophisticated and delivers results on par with cookie-based campaigns. Contextual targeting uses natural language processing and machine learning to go beyond keywords to the sentiment behind every webpage. The most robust contextual targeting solutions analyze a brand’s first-party data to uncover commerce signals and place ads on pages that are similar to the pages a customer visited before they made a purchase.

4. Watch for new sources of audiences

Google recently announced that they are scrapping the Federated Learning of Cohorts project meant to replace third-party cookies. In its place is the new Topics system, which assigns each user’s specific interests from a pool of 300 possible topics. Google says Topics will be more transparent and less susceptible to privacy abuses. Whether or not it will be an effective way to personalize ads is still up for debate. However, it stands to reason that more of these ‘clean’ third-party audiences will emerge between now and 2023.

The coming cookieless future presents new challenges for marketers, but options like Cardlytics’ first-party Purchase Intelligence™ have emerged to help bridge the gap. Ultimately, cookie deprecation presents an opportunity for brands to take the lead by giving customers an experience built on trust and transparency.

Key Takeaways:

• The labor shortage is hitting the restaurant industry especially hard. Nearly 7% of the food service workforce quit in November 2021 alone. Wage hikes aren’t enough to retain talented workers when inflation is driving up the cost of living. 
• Labor-saving automation and streamlined processes can have a negative impact on customer experience, and fail to drive new sales at scale. 
• Proven strategies, like restaurant discounts and deals, when combined with new technologies and precise audience targeting can get customers in the door in an on-demand manner that won’t sacrifice profitability or customer and employee experiences.

The restaurant industry was among the hardest hit when the pandemic struck in 2020. Forced closures, costly new mitigation measures, and changing consumer behavior led to the shuttering of over 110,000 restaurants. 

Restaurants are recovering from the worst of the Covid crisis, but the danger is far from over. Once-in-a-generation rates of inflation, intractable supply chain snarls, and an acute labor shortage are all eating away at razor-thin restaurant margins. 

Cardlytics analyzed current market trends and reviewed alongside our purchase insights. Here’s what we learned about the true size and scope of the problem, the effects of the restaurant labor shortage, and what brands can do to grow their margins without sacrificing the customer or employee experience.

The labor shortage and inflation go hand-in-hand

Restaurant employment is down 8% from pre-pandemic levels, a loss of over a million employees, and the Great Resignation is still picking up steam. A record 4.5 million people left their jobs in November 2021, including 6.9% of the food services workforce. 

So how did restaurants respond? By increasing wages. Roughly 60% of employers raised their wages at least twice during 2021. Nearly 30 percent of hospitality brands expect to raise them at least twice in 2022. 

But workers say it’s not enough. Wage gains in 2021 failed to offset the loss of purchasing power caused by record inflation. Even with larger paychecks, monthly budgets keep getting tighter. 

As a result, over half say they expect to find a higher-paying job in 2022, and 25 percent plan to leave the industry for another line of work entirely. It’s clear that restaurant brands are unlikely to solve their labor shortage woes with wage hikes. 

Labor-saving processes and technology may not be enough

With no end to the US labor shortage in sight, restaurant brands are investing in labor-saving technology to bridge the gap. Most major brands have already implemented streamlining solutions, and half of US restaurants plan to invest even more over the next three years. 

These new technologies run the gamut from self-service order terminals to automated smoothie kiosks and even voice-based artificial intelligence for drive-through customers. Soon, technology could even take over simple back-of-house duties like dishwashing. 

Restaurants are also turning to pared-down menus that eliminate labor-intensive entrees. The average menu item count has dropped 23 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels across all restaurant categories. Thanks to the twin pressures of the supply chain crisis and the labor shortage, it’s a trend the National Restaurant Association expects to continue throughout 2022 and beyond. 

Restaurants today are surviving, not thriving

Inflation has been especially brutal for the restaurant industry. Ingredient prices and labor costs have skyrocketed over the past year. To protect their margins, restaurants responded with modest price increases of between 2 percent and 5 percent on average,well below the current rate of inflation. 

Dining out is a luxury and a convenience, two things consumers are quick to shed when budgets get tight. This makes them especially sensitive to price increases. Instead of raising prices, some restaurants are trimming portion sizes or promoting cheaper plant-based proteins as an alternative to scarce and expensive meat. 

But labor-saving processes and price increases often aren’t enough to protect tight margins. By embracing digital promotions and advanced customer targeting, restaurant brands can look beyond brick-and-mortar economies and find innovative ways to generate new revenue. 

Cardlytics can help mitigate the effects of the labor shortage

Our insights suggest that promotional offers can be the determining factor when customers decide whether and where to eat out. Deals and discounts even outweigh recommendations from family and friends when it comes to trying new restaurants. 

What customers say about restaurant deals

• 54% say deals encourage them to try new restaurants
• 51% say deals and discounts are important to them to save money on restaurant visits
• 54% will spend more at a restaurant if they have a discount

Of course, coupons and other discounts are nothing new to the restaurant industry, but mass mailings in the current climate run the risk of over-extending locations already struggling with labor shortages. Success in driving new customers without a throttle can have a disastrous effect on customer and employee experiences, harming your brand in the long run. The other downside with mass mailers is that the people most likely to use them are the ones already coming anyway, and have already been paying full price.

Cardlytics’ customized campaigns let you precisely target customer segments you want, when you want, and for your desired locations. By excluding existing customers, you can focus your promotions on attracting new customers. At the same time, Cardlytics lets you spread the campaign impact over a longer period of time, allowing you to ramp up or down the promotion to ensure your locations aren’t overwhelmed, thus reducing the strain on your staff. As an added bonus, your restaurant stays busy, ensuring a steady stream of tips for your hardworking waitstaff. 

Get in touch today to see how Cardlytics can help you grow your customer base and boost sales with measurable incremental returns on ad spend.