Dive Brief:

• Media measurement company comScore has partnered with location-based mobile ad network xAd to measure the effectiveness of mobile ad campaigns in driving in-store visits, according to Adweek.
• The companies are introducing a tool within xAd’s platform called comScore Location Lift that will measure the reach and frequency of mobile ads and how those ads impact foot traffic in retail stores.
• The partners are planning to add cross-screen measurement later this year, as well as tools to track revenue, said xAd Chief Product Officer Shashi Seth.

Dive Insight:

As retailers struggle to track customers across devices and into stores, ad tech players are developing tools to help bridge the omnichannel gap. Today, consumers are spending more and more time on their phones, but are still doing most of their shopping in stores. comScore's latest measurement tool aims to help track the impact mobile ads have on in-store visits, a blind spot for many retailers. 

Tracking and measuring campaigns across different marketing channels — especially online to offline — is a capability that marketers have come to expect from their ad tech partners. Google, which has long dominated the online advertising space, has offered tools to measure and track the impact search ads have on in-store visits since late 2014. 

Social media platforms have recently come out with similar offerings: Facebook last week announced new measurement tools that allow advertisers to see how many people go to a store after seeing a Facebook campaign, optimize ads based on store visits, and analyze results across stores and regions to plan and optimize future campaigns. 

Snapchat, the fast-growing video-sharing platform with a coveted and highly-engaged youthful audience, also announced last week a partnership with technology company Oracle to use its Data Cloud to measure how ads on the social platform impact in-store sales.