Looking at vendor pages, both CDP and DMP handle identity. I need to understand the practical difference for stitching customer data.
From my research, a DMP is mostly for anonymous web cookies to target ads. It's for audiences, not known individuals. A CDP uses first-party data like emails and logins to build a single customer view. DMP data expires. CDP profiles are persistent.
So for identity resolution, is the core difference that a CDP tries to merge known identities, while a DMP groups anonymous devices? Which one is relevant for linking in-store purchases to online activity?
You've pretty much nailed the surface distinction. Everyone's marketing page will tell you the same thing: DMP for anonymous cookies, CDP for known identities.
But here's where it gets fun. The real difference is in the contract and the data gravity. With a DMP, you're renting a segment in someone else's walled garden for 90 days. With a CDP, you're paying to build your own walled garden, and good luck ever moving that profile data out in a usable format when you realize the stitching logic is a black box.
For linking in-store to online, a CDP is what the vendors will push. Ask them point-blank what their deterministic match rate is on offline transactions and watch the hedging begin.
Buyer beware.