5 Key Tracking Trends for 2025

It is hard to imagine something more standard and stereotypical than saying something like: “Oh, technology develops quickly, you always have to be up-to-date”. However, what to do if it is true? The digital world is evolving at the same speed ships were traveling between galaxies in “Star Wars”, and the only thing we can do in these conditions is to produce countless guides and lists of the “top X techs” and “top x tools”.

By the way, right now, you are looking at one of those. How do you adapt to constantly changing customer behaviors, and what do you do if privacy regulations are choking you? We cannot guarantee that our recommendations will help you to get rid of your problems, but they definitely will make your life easier and work - more effective.

Ascendance of server-side tracking

It is hard to call this technology a new trend, but it has definitely been getting more and more popular in recent years and will peak in 2025. Server-side tracking refers to the procedure of processing data on the specially-created server instead of doing this on the client’s side. It is popular because it allows marketers to solve many challenges they face within their work nowadays:

• ad blockers and browser restrictions cutting a lot of data;
• privacy regulations cuffing the hands;
• cookies living shorter.

If you have never heard about it before, it may be hard to understand how server-side tracking solves these issues. The whole point is to create a server that plays the role of mediator between the client and the analytical platform.

1. All the private information that is not allowed to be passed to analytical platforms is hashed and encrypted on the server before processing. Thus, you do not risk revealing the client’s name or address (and getting legal problems because of that), but you still get the fullest reports possible and can adjust your work accordingly.
2. When tracking the data server-side, you get a more accurate result thanks to bypassing the add blockers and browser restrictions. It is wrong to say that this technology itself does it by default, but when set up properly and extended by different add-ons and powerups, it levels the blockers’ effect dramatically.

In 2025, it is expected that more businesses and e-commerce enterprises will turn to server-side tracking simply because better data allows them to get a better understanding of the market and adjust their marketing strategies and budgeting accordingly.

AI is getting new positions

AI-driven systems are slowly but steadily flooding all areas of our lives and work, with digital marketing not being an exception. It is already widely used to analyze huge amounts of data and identify trends and behavior patterns, but it is only the tip of the iceberg. We can expect AI-powered tracking systems to become even more popular in 2025 and every next year as well.

So, what is so special about AI in the data tracking sphere? It makes the process much smarter and more predictive. In fact, AI models do not only report on the data acquired but also segment audiences, optimize strategies on the go, share the forecasts for expected outcomes, and do many other useful things. We will try to mention the most important and useful ones here and give a short introduction and explanation for each of them.

1. Automation of tagging and data collection. Manual tagging and data collection require a lot of time and have a higher risk of errors appearing. AI can make this process automatic by categorizing data and applying the correct tags to track user actions. This saves you time and ensures that no important data is missed.
2. Predictive analytics for smarter decisions. It is not wrong to say that AI specializes in predictions and forecasting based on received data. In the domain of data tracking, this can be useful for forecasting customer behaviors and actions, coming trends, and expected results. 
3. Real-time analytics and processing. In 2025, it is a luxury to wait for insights. One day is more or less okay, but not more. AI works in real-time and shows up-to-date analysis of customer data, making it possible for the marketing team to make instant decisions and adapt to everything on the go.

No doubt, AI models are already reshaping the common approaches and generally how business is done. Those who start implementing them in their work will get an advantage over all the “oldies” who are slow to try the new tools.

Popularization of privacy-centric tracking

When talking about server-side tracking, we have already mentioned the importance of privacy compliance in the modern business model. However, not only with the server-side tracking alone. Other technologies are turning around the preservation of privacy, and without them, it will be much harder to get high-quality tracking results.

1. First-party data. Businesses are moving away from third-party cookies due to their unsafety and not compliance with the GDPR and CCPA. First-party data is the one everyone tries to stick to nowadays. It is collected directly from the customers who interact with your brand or shop, so there is no one else involved in your “communication”.
2. Zero-party data. This is how information customers willingly share with third parties is called. For instance, leaving feedback or describing preferences on a website are both considered zero-party data and can be used for better personalization without violating any privacy rules.
3. Privacy-preserving technologies. This area is not widely known yet, but it definitely has a big future. IT specialists create new ways to protect and anonymize private information, and a company that wants to be modern and successful must keep its finger on the pulse and implement new technologies as soon as they appear on the market.

Businesses are expected to adopt different privacy-enhancing technologies in 2025 to follow compliance requirements and be able to follow global security standards when tracking data. And this is our recommendation to everyone reading this article.

Dominance of cross-channel and omnichannel tracking

There were times when it was enough for marketers to track only one customer channel. However, in 2025, people hop between platforms, and tracking systems need to evolve to cover all the data sources. It is fair to say that cross-channel and multichannel tracking is becoming a new standard for connecting online shopping, social media engagement, and e-mail marketing. There are several practical benefits it brings which you should know about.

1. Unified customer profiles. Thanks to the technologies described above, businesses will be able to create a unified profile for every customer based on their likes, purchases, social media interactions, subscriptions, etc.
2. Holistic attribution models. Omnichannel tracking will allow businesses to count every interaction the customer has across platforms. This, in turn, leads to more accurate insights and better working attribution.

As you can see, those who do not track data from all possible sources and platforms do not get a holistic picture and, thus, cannot react properly to all the changes and novelties in users’ profiles and behavior. Cross-channel and omnichannel tracking are solving this issue; the earlier you start implementing them in your work - the sooner you will feel the effect.

Something you do not expect

Our dark pony is here, and the 5th place, but not the last in terms of importance and novelty. Meet and greet, the blockchain integration! Considering all the directions the business moves in, as we described above, blockchain technology becomes a revolutionary solution for both tracking and attribution. There are several key points worth mentioning.

1. Decentralized data ownership. This point aligns greatly with growing privacy concerns as it gives customers a lot more control over the data they share for advertising purposes.
2. Transparent attribution. Advertisers can review the entire journey of their customers across different channels. This makes it possible to decrease the discrepancies between the actual tracked data and the numbers you get from the analytical platform. And, as we all know, more accurate analytical data means better control over the processes and higher profit!
3. Immutable event tracking. Every single event can be recorded on a blockchain right at the moment when it occurs. Not seeming so important at first, this actually allows marketers to get a permanent record of every action which cannot be changed or manipulated in any way.

Blockchain for tracking is only being explored. Although it is hard to predict its future now, everything points out that it will be widely used by marketers as soon as it gets to its final form. Thus, it is already worth monitoring and trying it now, in 2025.

Conclusion

We do not want to overreact, but guys, without any extra emotions, prepare for the 2025 tracking revolution. Well, in the worst-case scenario, 2026. Or maybe, 2027. Jokes aside, we are already going through it. There are so many novelties, new techniques, and approaches that it is hard to tell when it all leads us. One thing we can be sure about now is that there is more to come, there is more to go.