Brand, digital marketing, user experience, and CRM leaders today face the challenge of maintaining a high level of personalization at a time when traditional tracking tools, such as third-party cookies, are disappearing. Customers expect brands to recognize them and cater to their preferences at every step, from the website to the point of sale and customer support. In a cookieless digital world, this means companies must connect data across multiple channels more intelligently and build personalization on a foundation of first-party data. Instead of anonymous tracking of website visitors, the focus shifts to a direct relationship with the customer. The data users share with a company becomes the key fuel for delivering an outstanding user experience. Let us take a closer look at how this works.

First-party data as the foundation of personalization in a cookieless world

As highlighted by SAS in its report Navigating the Uncertain World of Third-Party Cookies (2025), advertisers and brands worldwide face a similar challenge: “As third-party cookies disappear, maintaining a balance between understanding user behaviour and respecting privacy is increasingly difficult.” This is why the industry is shifting toward strategies based on first-party data, which enable personalization without compromising privacy.

Even without cookies, a company can deliver highly personalized content if it effectively uses data collected through direct interactions. These include information from registrations and logins, purchase histories, loyalty program data, and preferences expressed through content choices or responses to campaigns. For marketers, the key is to develop a unified data strategy that brings these touchpoints together into a complete customer profile. When a user logs into an online portal or a company records an interaction in a CRM or CDP system, it can link their online behaviour within store purchases and email responses. This creates a 360-degree view of individual behaviour and needs, enabling 360-degree personalized communication. Cookieless personalization relies on such integrated insights.

From user identification to trusted data exchange

Because random anonymous data from third-party platforms is no longer sufficient and often not legally compliant, companies must encourage users to identify themselves and share data in exchange for value. This requires investment in loyalty programs, useful mobile apps and personalized newsletters that deliver benefits and give customers a sense of control over their data. In return, the customer receives a better user experience, and the company gains deeper insight into their behaviour.

As user authentication increases, the value of the first-party database also grows, improving the effectiveness of marketing activities. Advanced solutions such as iPROM Private DMP process this data using artificial intelligence, identifying behavioural patterns and opportunities for improved real-time communication.

SPAR Tailormade: An example of personalization that works

An excellent example of effective first-party data usage is the SPAR Tailormade platform, developed by iPROM in cooperation with SPAR Slovenia. The goal of the project was to move beyond generic advertising approaches and establish full control over targeting and message personalization using exclusively first-party data sources.

By connecting the loyalty program, CRM system, online store and mobile app, SPAR created an ecosystem that enables audience micro-segmentation and the use of AI-generated dynamic creative. The platform, powered by iPROM Private DMP and iPROM Programmatic Platform, enables advertising without third-party data. Each user receives a message tailored to their purchasing habits and interests, delivered through the most relevant channel, which can be email, the online store or display ads.

The results of continuous first-party data-based advertising within the platform are impressive. CTR increased by 45 percent, media waste decreased by 30 percent and more than 100,000 new customers were acquired through lookalike modelling.

Omnichannel integration for a seamless user experience

Customers do not think in terms of channels. They expect a brand to recognize them as a single individual across all touchpoints. Establishing connected channels where data flows between systems, physical stores, digital platforms, and customer support is the foundation of modern CRM and CX. In practice, this involves integrating CRM databases, web analytics, mobile apps, and content management systems into a unified or connected data ecosystem. Solutions such as iPROM Private DMP enable companies to merge these sources into a centralized customer profile and activate them in real-time.

Such integration removes friction, strengthens trust and creates the sense that the brand understands the individual. As a result, customer satisfaction, loyalty, and long-term relationship value increase. When channels are connected, companies can deliver consistent experiences, and the example of SPAR Slovenia shows that this is both feasible and effective, underpinned by clear business logic. The more a company invests in the customer, the more it receives in return, whether in loyalty, purchases, or advocacy.

Preparing for the complete phase-out of third-party cookies

The transition to a cookieless environment, likely driven by stricter digital regulation, requires a systematic approach built on three key elements. First, online and offline identities must be unified into a single customer profile, enabled through logins, universal IDs, or other authentication methods. Second, communication across departments and channels must be coordinated so messages are consistent and relevant. Finally, companies must develop the ability to track and measure interactions across all user touchpoints to understand which interactions lead to conversion and how to optimize the experience. This approach not only compensates for the loss of cookies, but also exceeds their function because it is built on trust, transparency and real value for the user.

Data will become the new currency of trust

Personalization is no longer just a marketing tactic. It has become an expected standard in user experience. Even without third-party cookies, companies can deliver communication that builds trust and loyalty by leveraging first-party data and connected systems. The SPAR Tailormade example clearly shows that the future of digital communication belongs to companies that understand the power of their data, invest in technological independence and build their own advertising ecosystems, while keeping the user at the centre of their strategy.

Trust and data quality are the new currency of success. Companies that can transform this capital into value for the user will stay ahead of the competition and remain even more connected to their customers.