Remarketing is a digital marketing strategy that allows brands to show ads to people who have already interacted with them: visited a website, viewed products, or added items to their cart. The goal of remarketing is to remind users about a product, nudge them toward purchase, and bring them back into the sales funnel.
Cookies are small pieces of data stored in a user’s browser. They enabled advertising platforms to track user behavior across different websites and create personalized ads. Of particular importance for marketing were third-party cookies — files placed by external services that allowed advertisers to see user actions beyond their own site.
For many years, these files were the foundation of remarketing campaigns. But the landscape has changed: growing demands for data privacy and new browser policies have led to the gradual phase-out of third-party cookies. Today, businesses find themselves in a world where remarketing without cookies is no longer a theoretical discussion but a reality.
For companies, this presents a new challenge: understanding how to set up remarketing without cookies while maintaining effectiveness. The focus now shifts to collecting user data without cookies — building proprietary databases through CRM systems, subscriptions, loyalty programs, and other first-party solutions. This new foundation enables brands to stay connected with their customers.
The phase-out of third-party cookies forces marketers to rethink their approaches, explore new remarketing strategies, and answer the central question: how to adapt remarketing to an environment where user privacy and transparent interaction are top priorities.
Cookies and Remarketing: What We Lost
How Remarketing Worked with Cookies
For decades, traditional remarketing was built on third-party cookies. When a user visited a website, a file was stored in their browser that allowed advertising platforms to “recognize” that person across other resources. This enabled marketers to display personalized ads: banners with items left in the cart, reminders about viewed pages, or special discounts for those who didn’t complete a purchase. In this way, remarketing worked with high precision, increasing campaign effectiveness and bringing customers back.
Why Browsers Are Phasing Out Third-Party Cookies
The situation changed due to rising demands for privacy and personal data protection. Browsers, including Safari, Firefox, and the dominant Chrome, began gradually blocking third-party cookies. The reasons are clear: users became more aware of how their online activity was being tracked and started demanding transparency. In a world where privacy is a top priority, the practice of global behavioral tracking without explicit consent has lost its legitimacy.
Limitations for Advertisers and Marketers
The phase-out of third-party cookies has created serious challenges for businesses. First, it reduced the ability to track audiences across different sites and build accurate segments. Second, it complicated the process of setting up remarketing campaigns: it’s no longer as easy to “catch” a user after their initial interaction with a brand. As a result, remarketing without cookies requires new solutions.
To understand how to set up remarketing without cookies, companies must shift to new data models. Today, the focus is on collecting user data without cookies — through owned websites, mobile apps, CRM systems, loyalty programs, or email subscriptions. This enables the creation of first-party databases that users trust more.
In these conditions, brands must explore new remarketing strategies: emphasizing personalization based on first-party data, applying contextual targeting, or integrating modern tools such as Conversion API and Privacy Sandbox. Yet the main task remains unchanged — adapting remarketing so it continues to deliver results without violating customer expectations for privacy.
What Works Now
Using First-Party Data
In today’s environment, a company’s most valuable asset is its own data. Remarketing without cookies is built around databases that businesses create themselves: CRMs with customer contacts, email subscription lists, information from mobile apps, or loyalty programs. These so-called first-party data are collected transparently and with user consent. They enable brands to build more accurate segments and set up personalized campaigns.
Remarketing via Email and SMS
One of the most reliable tools remains direct contact with customers through email or SMS. If a company knows how to properly manage its subscriber base, this channel can replace some of the capabilities that third-party cookies once provided. Such messages can be used to remind customers about abandoned carts, promote special offers, or deliver personalized deals. Well-designed campaigns help businesses address the question of how to adapt remarketing to new realities.
Using Contextual Targeting
Another effective tool is contextual targeting. Unlike cookie-based behavioral targeting, the focus here is on the content of the page a user is viewing. For example, ads for sports equipment can appear on websites with fitness or healthy lifestyle news. This allows relevant ads to be shown without tracking individual user actions, in line with privacy requirements.
Lookalike Audiences Based on First-Party Data
Leveraging owned databases also opens the door to creating lookalike audiences. Platforms like Google and Meta can identify similar users based on collected first-party data. This expands reach without using third-party cookies and helps attract new customers with comparable behaviors and interests. This approach is part of new remarketing strategies that combine effectiveness with compliance with privacy standards.
Integration with Platforms (Google, Meta) Without Cookies
Large advertising ecosystems such as Google and Meta have already introduced alternative tools for businesses. Google is developing a Privacy Sandbox, while Meta offers Conversion API. These tools allow companies to pass conversion data without third-party cookies, integrating directly with their CRM or website. For businesses, this provides a practical solution: they can now understand how to set up remarketing without cookies using official, secure mechanisms that align with market standards.
Thus, the digital advertising world hasn’t stopped with the loss of cookies. On the contrary, new tools have emerged that allow marketers to build effective campaigns based on transparency, control of owned data, and respect for user privacy. These solutions provide the answer to how to adapt remarketing to modern conditions and maintain it as one of the key sales channels.
New Technologies and Tools
Privacy Sandbox and Google APIs
One of the key solutions gradually replacing third-party cookies is Google Privacy Sandbox. It is a set of APIs that allows advertisers to target audiences and measure ad performance without relying on third-party cookies. The mechanism works through aggregated data and grouping users by interests without disclosing personal information. For businesses, this means the ability to continue working with relevant segments while maintaining customer trust. Such a solution becomes the foundation for understanding how to set up remarketing without cookies without losing effectiveness.
Server-Side Tracking and Conversion APIs
Another technology that is rapidly gaining popularity is server-side tracking. Unlike traditional client-side tracking, where cookies were stored in the user’s browser, the server-side approach transmits data directly from a company’s website to advertising platforms’ servers. Special tools such as Conversion APIs (for example, Meta’s) make this possible. This is a reliable way to ensure user data collection without cookies while still complying with privacy requirements. It also gives businesses greater control, allowing them to measure conversions more accurately and use their advertising budgets more effectively.
Artificial intelligence is becoming a crucial element in building new remarketing strategies. With AI analytics, it is possible to predict user behavior even without individual cookies. Algorithms can segment audiences based on behavioral patterns, generate forecasts from historical data, and deliver the most relevant ads at the right time. This provides marketers with the answer to how to adapt remarketing in a world where personal data is becoming less accessible. AI replaces pinpoint tracking with a more flexible approach that takes into account a wide range of factors and builds interaction scenarios with customers.
Today, technology already provides businesses with tools to offset the loss of third-party cookies. Companies that quickly integrate these solutions will not only maintain effectiveness but also gain a competitive advantage. Remarketing without cookies is not the end of personalized advertising but a shift to a new era where trust, transparency, and technological innovation take center stage.
Business Challenges
Balancing Privacy and Personalization
The phase-out of third-party cookies has created a difficult task for companies: how to strike the right balance between protecting user data and delivering personalized marketing. On the one hand, customers expect their information to be stored securely. On the other, they still want relevant offers and a tailored approach. As a result, remarketing without cookies requires a new philosophy: transparent dialogue with customers, clear explanations about data usage, and building systems where privacy is not a threat but a competitive advantage.
Rising Advertising Costs
The shift to new models inevitably makes advertising more expensive. Audience segmentation becomes more complex, and the available tools require higher investment in setup and maintenance. For many companies, the question of how to set up remarketing without cookies also means finding ways to optimize budgets. It is now essential to spend money not on broad reach but on targeted work with priority segments. Combining multiple channels — such as integrating email marketing with contextual targeting or using Conversion APIs — can help address this challenge.
The Need for Quality Data and Analytics
In this new reality, the quality of data, not its quantity, becomes the key asset for businesses. Companies that can ensure transparent user data collection without cookies through owned websites, loyalty programs, or CRMs gain a real competitive advantage. But this is not enough: strong analytics is also required to make effective use of data. For marketers, the challenge lies in how to adapt remarketing so that analytical insights turn into concrete actions. This is where new remarketing strategies come into play, with decisions based not on assumptions but on facts and algorithms that predict audience behavior.
In summary, companies face a dual challenge: on the one hand, guaranteeing security and transparency, and on the other, maintaining campaign effectiveness. Those who can quickly pivot and prioritize quality data and new technologies will not only minimize risks but also build next-generation remarketing.
Practical Tips
How to Prepare for a Cookieless World
The first step to effectiveness is recognizing that third-party cookies are no longer a reliable tool. Companies need to adapt in advance to the new reality. This means testing tools from Google and Meta, building alternative measurement mechanisms, and training teams in new approaches. The main task is to understand that remarketing without cookies is not a limitation but an opportunity to build a more transparent model of customer interaction.
How to Reshape Your Remarketing Strategy
Old approaches no longer work as they used to, so marketers need to find a balance between personalization and privacy. A modern strategy should combine user data collection without cookies — through CRMs, subscription forms, mobile apps, and loyalty programs — with new technologies such as contextual targeting, lookalike audiences based on first-party data, and server-side tracking. This way, businesses can not only maintain targeting accuracy but also solve the challenge of how to adapt remarketing to the new reality.
Why Invest in Your Own Data Collection Tools
As third-party cookies disappear, the most valuable resource for a company becomes its own databases. Investing in building them is a strategic move that ensures independence from external restrictions. Loyalty programs, subscriptions, and CRM integrations not only help accumulate data but also ensure its quality. This is the answer to how to set up remarketing without cookies, as owned data becomes the foundation of personalization. At the same time, it creates a basis for new remarketing strategies where the brand controls the data itself, and customers trust the transparency of the process.
In conclusion, businesses must act proactively: rethink their approaches, invest in proprietary systems, and learn to combine different communication channels. Only in this way can they ensure effective remarketing without cookies that works in an environment of constant digital change.
Remarketing in the New Reality
The phase-out of third-party cookies has been a turning point in digital marketing. But this does not mean that remarketing has lost its power. On the contrary — it is transforming. Businesses are already looking for ways to reshape their campaigns to remain effective. Modern remarketing without cookies is no longer about tracking users everywhere but about transparent interaction and building long-term relationships.
Which Approaches Remain Effective
Despite the changes, several strategies continue to work. At the core lies collecting user data without cookies through CRMs, subscriptions, and loyalty programs. These databases enable personalization that does not compromise privacy. Contextual targeting, remarketing via email and SMS, as well as lookalike audiences based on first-party data also remain effective. Integration with Conversion APIs or Privacy Sandbox demonstrates how to set up remarketing without cookies while maintaining performance. This is the answer to the main question: how to adapt remarketing in a world where the rules have changed.
Your Next Strategy Starts with COI.UA
The future of remarketing belongs to those unafraid of experimentation and innovation. Now is the time to invest in new remarketing strategies that combine technology, transparency, and creativity. And having a reliable partner in this process is crucial.
The COI marketing and software team helps companies understand modern tools, reshape campaigns, and build remarketing that works without cookies. We combine marketing, analytics, and technology so your business gains not just reach but real results.
Together with COI.UA, you can move from uncertainty to stability by creating a remarketing strategy that will remain relevant tomorrow.
