How to identify consumers across devices

Mobile is obviously doing well, but marketers are finding that consumers’ use of it can be confounding. Top on the list: cross-device. For example, it is impossible to tell how many users saw the selfie heard ’round the world — the Oscar photo of Ellen DeGeneres and her very attractive friends. However many they were, we do know they viewed it across 37 million devices.

Research shows that 80 percent of consumers are using their mobile devices while watching television. Fifty-six percent use multiple devices at the same time, and 90 percent of these people are switching screens to complete a transaction. Combined with mobile’s cookieless curse, it’s easy to see why it can be hard to link consumer behavior across devices.