Will Tracking Cookies Become Obsolete?

Posted on April 10, 2018 by bermanevansretail

One question arising among Web experts: Will Tracking Cookies Become Obsolete?

First, let us define the term. According to PC Magazine: “A tracking cookie involves data stored in the user’s computer by a Web site being visited. ‘Third-party’ advertisers place these cookies there to monitor the user’s Web surfing habits. And many people consider them an invasion of privacy.”

Furthermore, as Techopedia notes: “Many firms that use tracking cookies say the data collected involve demographics more than personal data. And this helps businesses make effective decisions about advertising and outreach. Yet, when firms collect IP addresses and personal data, the risk always exists for inappropriate use. Thus, tracking cookies continue to be controversial.” This helps explain the popularity of ad blocking software. See 1, 2.

Now, we turn to the future of tracking cookies.

 

Will Tracking Cookies Become Obsolete

Given the widespread use of tracking cookies, why their expected decline in the future?

eMarketer reports the following:

“The death of the tracking cookie may be upon us. According to a September 2017 survey of U.S. brand-side digital marketing executives by Viant, more than 60% of respondents believe they will no longer need to rely on cookies for the majority of their digital marketing within the next two years. Although cookies have been the staple way to track activity on Web sites for more than two decades, that monopoly on user tracking is slowly eroding as browsers and regulators in Europe crack down on digital privacy. Last summer, Apple’s Safari browser made tracking users more difficult by deleting third-party cookies after one day.”

Will Tracking Cookies Become Obsolete -- How Soon

And:

“While marketers’ reliance on cookies declines, it will still stick around for a while.”

Will Tracking Cookies Become Obsolete -- barriers to Digital Ads

However, eMarketer also reports that the drop in tracking cookies may be more imminent:

“It’s a hard knock life for tracking cookies these days. Flashtalking analyzed 20 advertisers worldwide throughout Q4 2017. And it found that 64% of their tracking cookies were either blocked or deleted by Web browsers. Rejection rates on mobile devices reached 75%, compared with 41% on desktop.”

“Originally, cookies tracked users across the Web on browsers. But, it’s more difficult to track a user who spends their internet time opening and closing mobile apps, since those apps operate independently of each other.”

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Americans Eat a Lot AND Fast

Posted on April 9, 2018 by bermanevansretail

In 2017, $5.61 trillion was spent on restaurants and bars. And this amounted to to 4.3 percent of all personal consumption. We also spent trillions on food for in home-use use. That’s impressive, right. On the other hand, Americans eat a lot AND fast. Furthermore, our obesity level is at an all-time high — and rising.

How do we compare with other countries in our eating habits?

 

Uh Oh: Americans Eat a Lot AND Fast

Consider these observations from Thomas L. Johnson, writing on Quora:

“For Americans, eating a meal is like ‘filling the tank.’ Food is fuel. And refueling is not exactly an activity that they believe in stretching out. When I had my first job working in the paper mill, I got 20 minutes during the middle of the shift to eat the lunch my mother had packed into the lunch pail for me. Well, mostly bologna sandwiches on white bread with a side of Doritos corn chips. Twenty minutes was more than enough time to fuel up, go to the bathroom, and get ready for another four hours throwing logs onto conveyor belts.”

“For Europeans, the pressure to get onto the next thing is not part of the culture. I have never met a French person yet who feels that anything less than an hour is adequate for a noon lunch. At the end of a meal, you never get the ‘did you get enough to eat?’ question. You are more likely to be asked what you thought of the steak tartare or the celery root salad. And you are perfectly free to tell the truth.”

“It’s cultural. Americans always have places to go, things to do. If anything, the meal is a distraction. In central Europe, there is always time to slow down, to burrow in, and to really taste whatever it is that the cook (who is not an 18 year old recent graduate of Hamburger U.) has decided to cook that day.”

And Statista’s Niall McCarthy adds:

“In many countries, taking time over a meal is normal, according to data from OECD. People in France tend to spend the most time eating and drinking per day on average at 2 hours and 13 minutes. But, eating is much faster in North America. Canadians spend an hour and five minutes eating and drinking per day. In the United States, it’s just an hour and two minutes.”

Americans Eat a Lot AND Fast

 

Posted in Global Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

What Caused the Death of Toys ‘R’ Us

Posted on April 4, 2018 by bermanevansretail

After many decades, it appears that Toys ‘Us’ will be going out of business and liquidating its stores. What caused the death of Toys ‘R’ Us. The short answer might be Walmart and online retailing. But that’s not the full story. This prior post certainly applies to Toys ‘R’ Us.

For some, it may be hard to believe how dominant Toys ‘R’ Us was at one time. As reported by Christopher Borelli for the Chicago Tribune:

“Toys ‘R’ Us came across like the closest thing to that universal childhood fantasy of a mountain of toys. It had a smile that lit up a room. It was the life of the party. It would do anything for anyone. That it had a mascot named Geoffrey the Giraffe — whose costume teetered like a spotted chimney over the heads of any unfortunate employee forced into it — had felt redundant. A single store holding every toy in existence was its own enticement.” 

 

What Caused the Death of Toys ‘R’ Us

To us, the biggest reasons for the Toys ‘R’ Us decline were its low adaption to the changing retail industry, the late recognition of the importance of online retailing, and slowness in closing under-performing stores. So, what do others conclude? 

According to Krista Garcia for eMarketer:

“Toys ‘R’ Us was one of the last remaining specialty big box stores in its product category. Best Buy is attempting to stay relevant by using its stores as experiential showcases for brands like Dyson and connected devices in partnership with Vivint, a smart home service provider. Yet, Toys ‘R’ Us’ problems’ stemmed less from changing consumer behavior and the rise of online shopping but from billions of dollars of debt.”

“Walmart and Target could potentially benefit more than Amazon. Coresight compared all toy buyers to Toys ‘R’ Us buyers and found behavioral differences. Toys ‘R’ Us buyers were less likely to purchase on Amazon than toy buyers in general and more likely to buy on both Walmart and Target (46.8% vs 38.6%). It’s plausible that shoppers who would prefer a traditional big box experience like Toys ‘R’ Us would be more inclined to shop in-store rather than online.” 

What Caused the Death of Toys 'R' Us
 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment