What Happens When the Cookies Crumble? : A mixed-method approach to investigate Internet users’ perceptions towards the Cookieless Future

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand the consumer perspective and intentions toward the prospect of a future without third-party cookies.Design/Methodology/Approach: This thesis utilized a combination of exploratory and confirmatory research design. A mixed-method approach was used for the data collection. The qualitative stage included focus groups. This was followed by a quantitative stage, conducted by means of an online survey.Findings: The finding from the focus groups indicated that Internet users have a negative opinion of the prospect of a world without third-party cookies, with positive expectations like improved user experience. Furthermore, results from both the survey and focus groups reveal a glaring lack of information when it comes to the subject of the gradual elimination of third-party cookies. The survey findings show the existence of a connection between user intention and distrust as well as user intention and privacy concerns.Theoretical Implications: Novel contributions have been made in several fields of business administration, specifically, the domains of digital marketing, consumer behavior, and consumer psychology. Contributions have also been provided by blending the theories from the above domains. Furthermore, this study established the addition of the Technology Acceptance Model, and Communication Privacy Management Theory to research the cookieless future, offering new useful insights on the underresearched topic of the cookieless future.Practical/Societal Implications: In the absence of cookies, organizations must improve their communication with online users. Furthermore, organizations and institutions are both responsible for educating everyday online users on topics such as online policies, data collection procedures, and data protection regulations. Moreover, organizations will have to focus on improving the online user experience in the absence of third-party cookies.Limitations/Future Research: Having a larger sample size would have allowed for better generalizability. Furthermore, participants were mostly Millennials (i.e., born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Z (i.e., born between 1997 and 2012) in the case of both the qualitative and quantitative parts of the study. An even wider distribution in age within the sample could have resulted in a different statistical analysis. Additionally, the survey and the focus groups were conducted exclusively in English, limiting the study to English speakers. Future research could investigate the users’ perceptions and behavior after Google has fully removed third-party cookies. Future research can also take an in-depth look into how the removal of cookies will affect personalized advertisements. Moreover, further studies could also investigate bigger populations. Different populations could be investigated as well: different generations, or different countries. Lastly, a longitudinal study of this thesis after the completed removal of third-party cookies could be a fruitful research direction.Originality: This is the first study that examines consumer perceptions and intentions in the context of the cookieless future, to the authors' knowledge. It is also the first to academically examine the cookieless future using a mixed-method approach, to the authors' knowledge.