PC Data, IRI Form Alliance

Internet audience measurement firm PC Data and shopping behavior researcher Information Resources Inc. (IRI) teamed this week to provide consumer packaged goods (CPG) clients with better data about how Internet usage drives online and offline buying.

IRI will also gain access to PC Data’s panel of households, which it can use to perform customized research for its clients.

IRI is adding PC Data to its list of Internet partners who will help it provide online intelligence to its CPG customers. Forrester Research and DoubleClick have already partnered with IRI in this endeavor.

“This alliance greatly enhances IRI’s Internet services to the CPG manufacturers and e-retailers. The addition of the PC Data meter to IRI’s Shoppers’ Hotline Panel will directly link Internet usage to online/offline buying,” said Daniel Sherr, IRI executive vice president for strategic business development.

“Additionally, the robust PC Data panel of 120,000 home Internet users allows us to understand consumer behavior and motivations — actually interpret what is happening at the consumer level and why it is happening — while it’s happening.”

Consumer packaged goods manufacturers are some of the biggest advertisers offline, and this alliance, and the others that IRI is forging, is aimed at helping these companies as they push more and more of their marketing dollars online.