TikTok x InMarket: Pioneering real-world attribution with the lift conversion index

Employing InMarket’s Lift Conversion Index (LCI), a tool that measures how digital campaigns drive foot traffic into physical retail locations, this partnership has the potential to redefine how brands leverage social-first strategies, showing them the impact their digital investments have on brick-and-mortar success, especially during a period marked by high-street challenges and a precarious retail economy.

At the heart of this partnership is InMarket’s LCI, a sophisticated attribution model designed to gauge foot traffic tied directly to advertising exposure on TikTok. The LCI platform works by integrating data from a broad network of location signals, anonymised to protect privacy, to identify when users exposed to a TikTok ad physically enter a store location associated with the ad campaign. This data is then processed to attribute those visits to specific TikTok ads, providing a new level of clarity on ad impact that goes beyond traditional click-through or digital conversion metrics.

User Exposure Tracking: TikTok identifies users exposed to ads during their time on the platform. This tracking layer is fully anonymised to comply with privacy standards, but it accurately records when a user interacts with or views a campaign.

Location Signal Collection: Through InMarket’s technology, anonymous location data is aggregated and cross-referenced with user exposure data to pinpoint when a user who saw an ad on TikTok visits a specific physical location, such as a retailer or pop-up store.

Foot Traffic Attribution: InMarket’s LCI analyses the likelihood of visits attributed to TikTok campaigns versus a control group that did not see the ads, offering a statistically sound metric on the influence of TikTok’s ad campaigns on real-world actions. This differentiation is crucial because it provides a ‘lift’ metric, showing brands a clearer picture of actual foot traffic that results from their TikTok investments.

Campaign Optimisation Insights: The results offer granular insights into which campaigns drive the most foot traffic, helping marketers adapt and refine their strategies for even greater impact. With these insights, brands can pivot or intensify campaigns based on real-world data, creating an iterative, data-informed loop between online ad placements and in-store outcomes.

As an end-to-end agency at Poppins, we know the power of social-first campaigns with measurable real-world outcomes. Our work with major brands like Nespresso, Norton Motorcycles, and Boost Drinks has already pushed boundaries by connecting digital engagement to physical spaces. For instance, we collaborated with Nespresso on its very first physical café, while our partnership with Norton created immersive retail environments. Real-world attribution from TikTok’s new trial would have allowed us to quantify these efforts further, attributing foot traffic and customer engagement directly to our organic and paid social content.

With Boost Drinks, our strategy to entertain and engage TikTok audiences could be tracked right to the footfall in local corner shops and independent retailers, where Boost has a strong presence. This technology could showcase exactly how these campaigns translate to real-world visits, providing unprecedented accountability and insight to our clients and allowing us to continuously refine our social-first strategies for maximum in-store impact.

Retail has long been fraught with challenges, and with the festive season approaching, the high street is set to face even greater pressure. TikTok’s LCI partnership with InMarket comes at a time when this industry innovation could be invaluable, especially for brands seeking to amplify foot traffic in the midst of evolving consumer expectations and tighter economic conditions.

By providing quantifiable insights into digital-to-physical conversion, this tool empowers retailers to connect the dots between campaign visibility and in-store success. Instead of relying on vague assumptions or proxy metrics, brands can understand exactly how digital engagement on TikTok impacts their bottom line in the real world.

For years, TikTok’s ad formats lagged behind more established social platforms, but the InMarket partnership represents a leap toward maturity. This initiative signals TikTok’s commitment to evolving beyond simple engagement metrics into a fully-fledged social commerce ecosystem that prioritises conversion and tangible outcomes. Through these efforts, TikTok positions itself not just as a discovery tool but as a powerhouse in performance-driven advertising.

This is precisely where Poppins excels as a creative agency. Our commitment to blending cultural insight, technical expertise, and real-world outcomes has always been central to our work, and TikTok’s partnership with InMarket only enhances our ability to deliver tangible results for our clients. We’re thrilled to see the boundaries of social-first marketing pushed even further and look forward to what these new attribution models can bring to our campaigns across Nespresso, Boost Drinks, Norton Motorcycles, and beyond.

As we continue to seek magic at the crossroads of culture, creativity, and innovation, real-world attribution from tools like LCI aligns with our mission, helping us not only show value but prove it in measurable terms. This new era of social-driven retail impact is just beginning, and at Poppins, we’re ready to lead the charge.

If anything you've read here piques your interest, we'd love to hear from you at hello@poppins.agency