Verizon Media and shopper data specialist Catalina launched a partnership Thursday, making the media company the first demand-side platform (DSP) to integrate Catalina’s in-store data with online ads.

The partnership allows brands working with Verizon to link in-store and online shopping data to their digital ad campaigns in real-time. This works by matching Catalina’s sales data directly with Verizon Media’s identity graph.

Advertisers are struggling to keep up with new trends amidst the resurgence of the global economy, led by the U.S.

The frequency of in-store visits last year spiked as consumers panicked and rushed to buy essential goods prior to the lockdowns. Then marketers felt the shift that led to the surge in online shopping.

Catalina has access to 170 million shopper loyalty cards and direct retailer relationships with most grocery, value, general, and convenience stores.

Verizon ID graph is based on the hundreds of millions who use their more than 30 brands and products such s Yahoo News, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Search, TechCrunch, Engadget, AOL, and more on web and mobile.

Strategies to traditionally measure and connect digital campaigns with actual sales, such as closed-loop studies, are no longer the only tools needed to support today’s CPG marketers.

Through this first-in-market integration, Verizon connects its first-party data with Catalina’s sales insights to validated omnichannel sales conversions influenced by true media exposure. The pixel-less solution matches Catalina’s sales data to Verizon Media’s cross-device ID graph.

The goal is to allow for greater granularity and provide teams with brand and product-specific purchase insights, including new products that otherwise would not be measurable.

This covers instances when users — distinct from the actual buyers — see the campaign.

For example, traditional measurement solutions will credit the head of the household on loyalty card purchases. Leveraging Verizon Media’s ID Graph, the credit goes to the person in the household who was exposed to the campaign, providing a deeper understanding of the true high-value consumer.

The solutions include Inflight Sales Analysis, which matches media exposures to purchases daily, powered by Verizon Media’s identity graph. This aims to help advertisers understand the effectiveness of their media based on the user in real-time.

It also supports Post Campaign Measurement through Catalina. It could also provide independent validation of the incremental sales impact to verify effective optimizations through their Sales Lift measurement in partnership with Verizon Media.