Emarsys

Overview

Emarsys, now operating under SAP as SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement, is an enterprise omnichannel marketing platform that powers personalized customer journeys across email, web, mobile, and advertising channels. It uses AI-driven segmentation and predictive analytics to deliver targeted content. Its browser-side scripts are a critical data collection layer, feeding real-time behavioral signals into the personalization engine that drives marketing decisions across all channels.

What This Script Does

Emarsys deploys a JavaScript tracking suite known as the Web Extend SDK on client websites. This is a comprehensive behavioral data collection system:

Visitor Identification and Cookies

• Sets a persistent visitor cookie (commonly cdv, scarab.visitor, or s prefixed identifiers) with a lifespan of up to 2 years
• Links anonymous visitor sessions to known customer profiles when a visitor logs in, makes a purchase, or submits an email address
• Maintains session-level cookies for tracking navigation within a single visit

Behavioral Data Collection

The Web Extend script tracks:

• Page views: Every page load is recorded with URL, timestamp, referrer, and page category
• Product interactions: Product views, category browsing, add-to-cart events, and wishlist additions are captured with product IDs, prices, and quantities
• Purchase events: Transaction data including order value, product SKUs, and quantities is transmitted to Emarsys for revenue attribution
• Search queries: On-site search terms are collected to inform product recommendation models
• Custom events: Site-specific interactions (video plays, PDF downloads, configurator usage) can be tracked through the ScarabQueue.push() API

Personalization and Recommendations

Emarsys scripts also render personalized content blocks on the page:

• Product recommendation widgets populated by Emarsys's Predict engine
• Personalized banners and content blocks based on visitor segment membership
• Web push notification permission prompts

Data is transmitted to recommender.scarabresearch.com, api.emarsys.net, and related SAP Emarsys endpoints. The collected behavioral data feeds into Emarsys's AI models for predictive segmentation, churn scoring, and lifecycle marketing automation.

Consent & Compliance

Emarsys is classified under both marketing and analytics categories. Under GDPR and ePrivacy, all behavioral tracking cookies and the Web Extend script require explicit prior consent. The persistent visitor identification cookies, product interaction tracking, and cross-session behavioral profiling are unambiguously non-essential and serve marketing objectives.

Emarsys provides a built-in consent integration through its Web Extend SDK — the ScarabQueue.push(['consent', true/false]) method can be called to activate or suppress tracking based on the visitor's consent status. This should be wired to your consent management platform to ensure the script respects visitor choices.

Under CCPA/CPRA, the behavioral profiles and purchase data Emarsys collects constitute personal information. The cross-channel nature of Emarsys (linking web behavior to email engagement to purchase history) may qualify as "sharing" under CPRA if data flows to SAP Emarsys's recommendation models that serve multiple clients. A "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link is required if this applies.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Yes. Emarsys's Web Extend SDK is a comprehensive marketing and behavioral analytics system. Every aspect of its data collection — visitor identification, product interaction tracking, purchase attribution, and predictive personalization — serves marketing purposes and requires prior consent under EU privacy regulations.