• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, February 27, 2014

London-based Struq has launched what it claims to be a first: a cross-device retargeting platform geared for retailers.

The company’s CEO, Sam Barnett, told RTM Daily that Struq is partnered with a “large number” of major Web sites and services that allow users to log in. Through the login information, Barnett said, Struq can find about 70% of users again on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile). Although he did not reveal any of the publisher partners, Barnett claims Struq has delivered over 35 trillion ads in the past two years.

Because the users log in to the Web site and services Struq has relationships with, Barnett said it allows for a “non-statistical” approach to retargeting, “which means Struq knows for sure that this is the same user on their tablet as their Macbook."

Barnett said current companies match devices to users (to allow for cross-device retargeting) by “probabilistically determining” whether two devices are used by the same person.

“If you are targeting a user that is ‘probably’ the same user, you may not be targeting the right user,” he said. For emphasis, he added, “if you target the wrong user, you will certainly be showing them the wrong message at the wrong time.” Barnett said this leads to “huge inefficiencies in marketing spend.”

For example, according to Struq data, mobile accounts for an average of 36% of a retailer’s traffic, but just 14% of sales. Barnett claimed if the users that browsed but did not purchase are retargeted on their desktop or tablet, their chance to purchase increases 250%.