As store retailers continue to grapple with the competition from online firms, they have become more interested in tracking the success of digital advertising in luring shoppers to their stores.

With that in mind, Google is developing a new program for store retailers. In a Wall Street Journal article, Alistair Barr sums it up thusly:

“Retailers have long struggled to determine whether online ads fuel sales in their bricks-and-mortar stores. Now, Google Inc. is testing a way to solve that puzzle. A pilot program begun by the Internet company is helping about six advertisers match the anonymous tracking cookies on users’ computers to in-store sales information collected by data providers like Acxiom Corp.  and DataLogix Holdings Inc., according to people familiar with the test.”

“One participant in the program is the arts-and-crafts chain Michaels Stores Inc., the people said. The other participants couldn’t be identified. ‘We are running a number of tests to help clients use their own sales data to measure how their search campaigns impact sales,’ said a Google spokesman.”

What do YOU think of this concept?

Click the image to see a WSJ video clip on this subject.