Just 48% of UK publishers are actively preparing for a cookieless future, according to research from digital ad platform Teads.
With Google delaying full deprecation of cookies, another 37% of UK publishers said they are planning to take action this year. This is 16% higher than the global average.
Meanwhile, 85% are considering selling directly to advertisers and agencies through leveraging their first-party data.
Login concerns
However, a key challenge lies in encouraging the use of logins: 67% are concerned about the potential disruption of user experience and 59% expect an impact on traffic.
Furthermore, only 22% said more than half of their users visit their site more than three times per month. This could result in potential challenges with some cookieless solutions that require logged-in users.
Opportunity in first-party data
But there is optimism too. Just over half (52%) of UK publishers consider this transition period as an opportunity to better leverage first-party data, while 48% acknowledge the benefits of stronger privacy.
Indeed, only 7% are considering increasing ad space and/or the number of third-party monetisation partners to increase demand.
Gwern Parri, publisher group account director at Teads UK, said: “Despite the fact that UK publishers appear to be more informed about the upcoming changes than their global colleagues, our survey still highlights a continued lack of readiness.
“This is surprising as 59% of respondents answered that they are still receiving a higher yield from cookie-based traffic, meaning that when final depreciation does eventually happen, it’s likely there will be a significant impact on their ability to monetise this supply.”
Teads surveyed 555 publishers across 58 countries in March.
