The connection between the online offer and offline purchase is one of the last unbridged gaps in google powered world of online advertising.  Vendors and Google both shared an interest in resolving this missing link from opposite sides of the equation:

Google of course wants to demonstrate more convincingly that not all AdWords ROI is captured online — and that the offline impact is large and measurable.

Vendors are still looking clear evidence that the offline sales impact on online ads is as big as some claim — given that it spells the difference between strong and shaky ROI.

This release reinvigorates the debate about loyalty programs greatest impact: is it on the loyalty side or is the data gathering component actually the bigger value for companies?