Google To Track Offline Retail Sales Influenced By Search Ads

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GOOGLE TO TRACK IN-STORE PURCHASES: Google wants to know whether its search ads are driving in-store sales, so it's testing a campaign that will track how Internet users spend their money at bricks-and-mortar retailers. To do this, Google is partnering with data brokers, such as Acxiom and DataLogix, which will help the Internet giant match in-store customers with Internet users who are clicking on its search ads (thanks to the data brokers' access to loyalty program offline purchase-tracking). Facebook has been partnering with data brokers since 2012 to conduct the same type of tracking, but Google's campaign will be on a much larger scale. Retailers love using search ads because it allows them to target consumers who are already looking for something in particular. Google wants to show that those search ads are driving people to make purchases in stores, not just online. (Wall Street Journal)

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "People are spending most of their time online, but the vast majority of their consumption still happens offline. So tying those two things together is critical. That's why more and more online marketing channels are opening up to offline transaction data." - Eric Stein, executive vice president of marketing intelligence agency Epsilon.

ONLINE RETAILERS IN THE UK POST STRONG START TO THE YEAR: Online retailers in the UK saw first quarter sales up 17% year-over-year to $38.7 billion, their strongest start to the year since 2011. The growth was a result of online shopping becoming "a larger part of our everyday lives," according to tech consultancy Capgemini and UK retail association Interactive Media In Retail Group (IMRG). UK consumers are making larger, and more frequent purchases online. (IMRG, Internet Retailer)

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RETAILERS TO SHARE CYBER THREAT DATA: In the wake of a cyber attack that rocked consumer confidence in Target, U.S. retailers will establish an industry group for collecting and sharing information about possible security threats. The financial services industry, which has a similar group for information-sharing and threat analysis, will help the National Retail Federation with setting up the new task force. Once established, retailers will have a formal forum for discussing potential threats to credit card fraud and information security, as well as collaborate about how to prevent future attacks. (Reuters)

ETSY JUMPS INTO WHOLESALE BUSINESS: Etsy, an online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, is getting into the wholesale business. Sellers can now take wholesale orders from merchants via Etsy, so that their products can be sold in stores. Etsy will take its standard 3.5% commission on all transactions. The online marketplace has become a popular sales channel for artists and craftsmen to sell directly to consumers, but now with the help of Etsy, they have the potential to see their products sold in thousands of retail stores. (New York Times)

The perception of eBay is that people use it to buy and sell products in an auction-based format. However, a reported 73% of items last year were actually sold at a fixed price. (BBC)

Storefront, a platform that helps online brands run physical retail operations, has raised $7.3 million in venture funding. Storefront has helped brands such as Google and Indochino open pop-up shops where they can try their hand at selling via bricks-and-mortar stores without committing to a long-term lease. (Fashionista)

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