Transition to Server-Side Tracking: The success story of Decathlon Travel

We are delighted to relay this article written by our partner the Bespoke Agency, documenting the success story of Decathlon Travel. We thank Decathlon Travel for their valuable testimony and collaboration, as well as the Bespoke Agency for writing this thorough article.

With Google Chrome's imminent removal of third-party cookies in 2025, the digital marketing landscape is about to undergo a radical transformation. Today, 4 out of 10 users in France already browse the web without third-party cookies, demonstrating the urgency to adapt to this new reality. The adoption of Server-Side Tracking is indeed becoming crucial for companies wishing to maintain a clear understanding of their customers' behavior.

As the end of third-party cookies is already a reality, companies like Decathlon Travel have not waited for this deadline to update their tracking processes. In June 2023, with the support of the Bespoke Agency and its partner Addingwell, Decathlon Travel successfully implemented Server-Side Tracking. In the article, you will discover how this transition has enabled Decathlon Travel to collect more precise and secure data, while significantly improving the performance of their marketing campaigns.

Server-Side Tracking in Service of Web Performance

Server-Side Tracking relies on the collection of web data by the server of the visited site, using a first-party cookie instead of the user's browser. This new approach is an efficient solution for data collection.

By centralizing data processing on the server, this type of tracking ensures more reliable information collection. The collected data is less exposed to script blockers and privacy extensions. This provides a more accurate picture of your clients' or leads' behavior. For companies whose marketing heavily depends on data, Server-Side Tracking represents a major opportunity in the context of the programmed obsolescence of third-party cookies. Here are the benefits of Server-Side Tracking:

1. Enhanced GDPR compliance
   It offers a GDPR-compliant tracking solution for data protection. By centralizing data collection on a server, companies minimize the risk of sensitive data leaks.
   
2. Optimization of web performance
   Client-side tracking involves loading the cookie stored on the browser, which can slow down page load times and negatively impact the user experience. In contrast, Server-Side Tracking has no direct impact on website performance. Data collection and processing take place on the server, without affecting browser resources. This helps improve page load speed, optimize SEO, and contribute to a better overall user experience.
   
3. Improved data management
   With Server-Side Tracking, companies regain control of their data by centralizing its management on a server. This centralized approach offers better visibility into the data collected, its use, and its sharing.
   
4. Effective alternative to tracking restrictions
   The rise of ad blockers and tracking restrictions imposed by browsers presents a major challenge for brands. They still need reliable, comprehensive data to track the behavior of their clients and prospects. Server-Side Tracking offers an effective solution to bypass these restrictions by collecting data directly on the server before it is affected by blockers or the browser.

Decathlon Travel, a revealing case study

Decathlon Travel, a sports travel booking platform created in 2021, has already experienced the benefits of the transition following the implementation of Server-Side Tracking a year ago.

"In creating Decathlon Travel, our goal was to move from a focus on sports products to sports experiences. We wanted to quickly drive customer acquisition and develop our traffic, while leveraging the Decathlon brand's reputation," explains Juliette Gautier, Paid Acquisition Manager and Web Analyst at Decathlon Travel.

In anticipation of the end of third-party cookies, Decathlon Travel opted for Server-Side Tracking in June 2023 with the support of Bespoke.

"It was a good solution for us to continue collecting accurate data, but also to better control it," continues Juliette Gautier. "Moreover, it allowed us to no longer depend on browsers and to have a more complete view of the customer journey."

Lacking the internal resources necessary for implementation, Decathlon Travel chose to hire an external provider, the Bespoke Agency.

"It was a significant gain in time and expertise. Bespoke supported us throughout the process, from the audit to implementation, and through the training of our teams," emphasizes Juliette Gautier.

Results

Success was achieved: over the past year, Server-Side Tracking has allowed Decathlon Travel to triple its investments on Meta, halve its CPA, and improve its ROAS by more than 50%. A result considered very encouraging by Juliette Gautier:

"After a necessary adaptation period, Server-Side Tracking allowed us to optimize our campaigns and improve our profitability."

Juliette Gautier's message to companies looking to get started is clear:

"Don't hesitate to outsource! It's a worthwhile investment to improve your results."

Server-Side Tracking, the next steps

The adoption of Server-Side Tracking offers new opportunities for companies looking to leverage their data to optimize their marketing strategies and maximize their ROI. Here’s the perspective of our Expert and Director of Analytics at Bespoke, Florentin Hild:

Data enrichment for enhanced performance

By enriching their data, companies can create more precise and personalized audience segments. This allows them to deliver more relevant marketing messages with the aim of optimizing their conversion rates.

"Beyond sensitive margin data, enrichment can also apply to most of the data sent to media and analytics partners. For many advertisers today, Product or User data is injected into the Data Layer to be sent to partners. With Server-Side, most of this data can now be sent outside the user's browser, from server to server. This allows for significant optimization of page load times as it reduces the content of the Data Layer and thus the API calls within the browser."

Global Margin Management

Using Server-Side Tracking to enrich the information sent to advertising algorithms opens up promising new perspectives. Companies can more precisely personalize their marketing campaigns based on product profitability.

For example, by integrating product margin data into Google Ads tags, algorithms can consider the profit margin to prioritize the most profitable conversions instead of just the gross purchase value.

This approach allows for optimizing bids and ad distribution based on each sale's real contribution to the company's profitability. The advertising budget is allocated more effectively, targeting products or services that generate the highest margins.

Server-Side Tracking and data enrichment allow you to maximize the return on investment of your marketing campaigns while circumventing the planned obsolescence of third-party cookies. Ensure reliable data collection and focus your efforts on the targets that contribute the most to your company's overall margin!

This article was written by our partner, the Bespoke Agency. We thank them for their expertise and support in the realization of this success story.