First-Party Data Retargeting: Are Retailers Prepared?

Ask a retail team how ready they feel for a cookieless future, and most will say they aren’t there yet. Only 18% call themselves very prepared to keep retargeting effective with the uncertain future of third-party cookies.

But ask the same team which signals actually drive their retargeting today, and it’s a different picture. Most retailers already have a first-party data strategy running; what's missing is the dedicated cookieless retargeting infrastructure that would let them recognize it as one. 

We teamed up with eTail Insights on the Pathways to Retargeting Campaign Effectiveness report to see how ready retailers really are.

Here's what the data actually shows, and why retailers already have more to work with than they think.

What Signals Are Replacing Third-Party Cookies in Retargeting?

When retailers were asked which signals matter most for retargeting decisions, first-party data swept the top of the list: CRM and loyalty data led, with cart abandonment and on-site browsing close behind. Third-party audience data trailed near the bottom.

The low readiness score points to a tooling problem. Retailers already have the first-party data strategy these signals represent. What's missing is the dedicated cookieless retargeting infrastructure to run it without third-party cookies in the picture.

Did the Retail Industry See This Coming?

Yes. Retail practitioners predicted this exact change before the survey went into the field.

At a keynote panel during eTail Palm Springs 2025, industry practitioners made two predictions that this survey now confirms:

• Third-party data would lose value fast. As cookies phased out, third-party audience data would stop being a reliable retargeting signal.

• First-party data collection would become the real strategy. Retailers would need their own data infrastructure to keep targeting and personalization at the same level.

As noted earlier, third-party audience data now ranks near the bottom of the signals retailers use, while first-party data leads. 

Does First-Party Data Lead Personalization Decisions, Too?

Yes, largely. A companion survey asked retailers which data types trigger personalized customer interactions across all channels, not only retargeting. Owned data still crowded out generic third-party targeting:

Retailers are building personalization and retargeting programs on data they already own instead of licensed third-party audiences.

What Should Retailers Prioritize as the Future of Cookies Changes?

Retailers already lean on CRM data, loyalty programs, cart abandonment, and on-site browsing behavior. The next step is making sure that same approach extends past retargeting alone.

The personalization data shows first-party signals already carry most channels, retargeting included. Retailers who treat cart abandonment, loyalty data, and on-site behavior as retargeting-only assets are leaving the same signals unused everywhere else a customer shows up: email, SMS, onsite personalization, and paid social.

The retailers most prepared are the ones connecting data they already have across every channel it could inform.

Common Questions About First-Party Data and Retargeting

Is my company more prepared for cookie deprecation than it feels?

Probably, yes. If retargeting decisions already run on CRM data, cart abandonment, or on-site browsing behavior, that's a first-party data strategy already in motion. Most retailers underestimate this because no one labeled it that way.

What first-party data signals matter most for retargeting?

The strongest signals are tied to a real, recognizable customer: CRM and loyalty data, items left in a cart, pages someone actually browsed. Third-party audience data, essentially a stranger's general interests, ranks far behind.

Do I still need third-party data at all?

Less than retargeting used to depend on it. Third-party audience data still has a place, but it trails well behind the first-party signals already running most retargeting decisions today.

Last updated on October 8th, 2026.