On this episode of the MadTech Podcast, ExchangeWire Head of Content John Still is joined by CEO Rachel Smith and Bharat Khatri, Chief Digital Officer at Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific to discuss the latest in media and marketing. 

They discuss this week’s big cookie bombshell from Google, social commerce in the APAC region, and how brands can ride the Amazon e-commerce wave. 

A new path for Privacy Sandbox (Privacy Sandbox blog)

Google has decided to abandon its plan to deprecate third-party cookies on its Chrome browser. Google plans to “introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing”, a blog post by Anthony Chavez, vice-president of Privacy Sandbox outlines. The Privacy Sandbox APIs will remain available for those who want to use them. 

SEA retailers plan to increase social commerce investment (Marketech APAC) 

Data from Shopify reveals that 68% of Southeast Asian retailers are planning to increase investment in social commerce over the next year. Retailers in the region plan to increase spend predominantly on contextual real-time pricing. Shopify also finds social media to be the biggest driver of brand and product discovery in the region, with more than eight in ten consumers discovering new products this way. 

Prime Day Drives Spend of $14.2 Billion (Forbes)

Sales of both days combined drove a staggering consumer spend of USD $14.2bn (£11bn) in the US. Electronics drove a huge number of purchases, with their sales increasing 61% compared to the June average. The categories of footwear, health and beauty saw the strongest growth among non-Amazon retailers.