Empower Your Shopify Store's Growth In A Post-Cookie World

How will you navigate the post-cookie world? Learn more about how you can implement server-side tracking to empower your Shopify store.
Gabrielle Daum

July 2024 Update on Third-Party Cookie Deprecation:


In response to the evolving digital privacy terrain, Roswell NYC is leading the charge by embracing Google’s latest pivot to third-party cookies. With Google's transition to a more nuanced paradigm, prioritizing user agency, the narrative of data privacy is being rewritten. Users can tailor their cookie settings at an account level, propelling forward the agenda of enhanced self-governance surrounding personal data and monitoring online conduct.

E-commerce brands and marketers are ushered into an era where the advocacy for user consent becomes the cornerstone of digital engagement. Reflecting on our prior analyses, the maturation towards a reliance on first-party data and the imperative of cultivating audience trust cannot be overstated. Now, it is paramount for brands to cultivate this trust by ensuring transparency and giving users the helm of control, an ethos that is in lockstep with Google's renewed stance.

Roswell NYC not only endorses but actively implements marketing philosophies grounded in consent, honoring user privacy and yet delivering tailor-made experiences. As we stride into this fresh digital advertising domain, brands must concentrate on forging substantial connections with their audiences, utilizing first-party data, and enhancing marketing strategies where consent is key.

At this juncture, it is also essential to highlight the significance of server-side tracking. By transmitting anonymized data to platforms like Google and Meta, server-side tracking aligns retargeting efforts with our users' heightened privacy sensitivities, enabling brands to conduct effective and precise retargeting initiatives without compromising user privacy.

In developing a retention marketing strategy, it's imperative to delineate that tactics such as retargeting and abandonment flows are exclusively employed for individuals who have expressly opted in. There should be no ambiguity that engagement is distinct and separate from services like retention.com, ensuring communication reaches only those who have demonstrated interest.

With Roswell NYC, leveraging these sophisticated tools is just the beginning. To realize their potential, robust abandonment flows and dynamic remarketing capabilities are paramount—ensuring that your Shopify store thrives in a privacy-first digital ecosystem. These are not merely adjuncts to your marketing repertoire; they're pivotal elements that can dramatically enhance your store's performance and customer relationship dynamics. Let us navigate this journey with you, steering your business toward a future where privacy-conscious practices set the benchmark for success in the digital market.

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While major browsers continue to phase out the use of third-party cookies, e-commerce marketers have had to rethink the way they do business — how to reach, engage, and understand their customers at scale in a world without cookies.

That’s where server-side tracking comes in. Rising in popularity in recent years, server-side tracking provides seamless (and GDPR-compliant) data collection. Working in tandem with your tech stack’s zero-party data collection, server-side tracking collects first-party data to understand how your customers browse, shop, and interact with your brand.

But what is server-side tracking? And how can you use it to fuel your Shopify store’s growth?

Client-side vs. server-side tracking

By default, e-commerce tools like Shopify Analytics, Klaviyo, and Shopify’s native Google Analytics 4 (GA4) integration send data on the client side, or through your customers’ browsers. Due to ad and cookie blockers, connection interruptions, and browser permissions, e-commerce brands relying on client-side tracking often experience significant data discrepancies throughout their customer journey, whether it be inaccurate revenue, missing subscription orders, or skewed marketing attribution.

Server-side tracking, on the other hand, sends data from your customers’ servers to the reporting or marketing tool of your choice, capturing every step of the customer journey so that you can make business decisions based on data you can trust. With the help of server-side identity resolution software, DTC stores can fuel their retention marketing and paid media efforts with data-driven retargeting campaigns.

How to leverage server-side tracking for your Shopify store

Thanks to a variety of no-code and low-code server-side tracking solutions, leveraging complete first-party and zero-party data to propel your store’s growth has never been more accessible. Not only are these solutions easy to implement, oftentimes with plug-and-play installation, but they also seamlessly integrate with the platforms you're already using, ensuring a smooth transition and rapid actionability.

At Roswell, we love recommending tools like Black Crow AI, LittleData, Elevar, and BlotOut to bring actionable insights to the forefront and build data-driven marketing strategies.

We work with brands like Hallelujah Diet, Gen See, Hat Heaven, Ethique, and IQBar (to just name a few), integrating their Shopify stores with the best server-side tracking tool based on their unique business goals and unlocking a wealth of data that can be used to power:

  • Session, Browse, Cart, and Checkout Abandonment flows and journeys
  • Improved event match quality scores
  • Retargeting and lookalike audience building
  • Optimized paid media performance
  • More accurate


Black Crow AI

From Klaviyo and Attentive to Meta, Google Ads, and more — Black Crow AI’s platform makes it easy to collect first-party data and use it in the top marketing channels. Their Smart ID sends additional data metrics into tools like Klaviyo, triggering abandonment flows to anonymous users in your email list, and Meta, improving event match scores for more accurate retargeting.

Littledata

Utilizing server-side tracking for more accurate data in Google Analytics 4, improved user identification across retention marketing and paid media tools, and a complete picture of the user journey — Littledata integrates with the top analytics and marketing platforms to inform decision-making and fuel powerful retargeting campaigns and flows.

Elevar

In just a few clicks, Elevar seamlessly plugs into your tech stack, sending more accurate performance and audience insights to your choice of 40+ marketing and reporting destinations, including Klaviyo, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, GA4, and more. Data-driven DTC brands can leverage these insights to craft and execute highly precise retargeting campaigns across their marketing channels.

BlotOut

BlotOut empowers e-commerce brands by identifying anonymous users, boosting retargeting efforts, and driving conversions across their marketing tech stack. With complete first-party data pushed into platforms like Meta, Google, and Klaviyo, brands can serve their customers with targeted and personalized experiences across the customer lifecycle.

Server-Side Tracking Best Practices

In choosing the right server-side tracking tool for your brand, be sure to take the following into consideration:

  • Compliance: Ensure that you’re choosing a tool that’s compliant with international and state privacy laws, like GDPR and CCPA, especially if you’re selling across borders.
  • Compatibility: To get the most out of your server-side tracking tool, make sure that it integrates with other tools across your tech stack.
  • Implementation: Depending on your team’s bandwidth, you may want to opt for a plug-and-play solution that requires little to no maintenance.
  • Site speed: Adding multiple pixels to your site can slow down its loading time. We recommend opting for a server-side tracking tool that integrates with multiple data destinations and eliminates the need for multiple pixels.

Finding the right tool depends on your brand’s unique goals. Contact us at Roswell NYC to fuel your e-commerce success with tailored solutions and expert insights.