Ecommerce Attribution Models: Which Ones to Use

Picture this: a potential customer comes across a product you’re selling through an ad on Instagram. They click on it, spend a lot of time on your store’s product page but don’t add the item to the cart. Days later, they receive an email promotion and, after seeing a retargeting ad, decide to hit that sweet “finalize purchase” button.

Victory, huh? But wait a second, which of these touchpoints deserve the credit for sealing the deal?

Potential customers will encounter multiple avenues encouraging them to buy your products or interact with your brand. The buyer’s journey is rarely a straight line. Actually, it can include many stops like your online store’s website, its social media pages, ads, emails, and more.

That zigzag route is precisely what makes the data analysis process tricky. It can be maddeningly complex for businesses to try to figure out what triggers conversions and what’s actually working.

Guesswork isn’t an option if you don’t want to drain marketing resources for nothing. But you can use a combination of ecommerce attribution models with specialized tracking tools to untangle the web of a shopper’s interactions and pinpoint which channels or campaigns are driving conversions. We’ll tell you more about all of that on this page.

Key Takeaways:

• Ecommerce attribution models are frameworks assign credit to various marketing touchpoints that contribute to a sale or conversion, they’re used to provide insights into the customer journey.
• Attribution models analyze the sequence of customer interactions, enabling businesses to avoid guesswork and identify which marketing channels drive conversions effectively.
• Multi-touch attribution is better for ecommerce as it evaluates the impact of multiple touchpoints, even when customers follow complex paths to purchase.
• Tools like RedTrack streamline tracking and attribution efforts, helping businesses optimize campaigns and improve ROI by consolidating data and insights into one platform.

What Are Ecommerce Attribution Models?

How many times have you heard marketers discuss storytelling? Hundreds, we bet. But what if we tell you that, in a sense, attribution models in ecommerce are storytellers? After all, they determine how you interpret a customer’s journey toward purchasing a product or service.

The thing is that if you want to make the most of your ecommerce store’s marketing efforts, you should be asking yourself questions about which channels and activities actually contribute to sales. It’s never safe to assume that a single ad or email urged the shopper to make a purchase.

You need to know how customer stories unfold across multiple platforms, analyze them together, and look for trends. This will allow you to obtain unique insights that can guide your decision-making, let you optimize your marketing strategy, boost ROI, and make better predictions.

How does ecommerce attribution fit in the picture? Well, it’s one of the leverages that can help you fill in the blanks regarding customer interactions. Ecommerce attribution models are frameworks used to assign credit to different marketing touchpoints that contribute to a sale or conversion.

By using ecommerce marketing attribution, you allow the models to piece together the entire sequence of interactions. And depending on the path you take, you may assign weight to different touchpoints. Otherwise, you’re likely missing out on opportunities and wasting your budget.

The Importance of Attribution Tools for Ecommerce

Ecommerce marketing has many goals, but let’s not sugarcoat the truth, the main one is to make every dollar you invest count. Although you can work with a sea of possibilities to reach your customers, such as TikTok or even Reddit, your budget is far from endless.

You need data attribution ecommerce tactics to escape the trap of guessing which marketing channel is wrapping up the deal. And this is why ecommerce attribution matters.

Find out which channels actually drive revenue — Not every dollar pulls its weight. But quality ecommerce attribution helps you separate the high-performing campaigns from the ones that quietly drain your budget so you can double down on what works and cut what doesn’t.

Refine the buyer’s journey — Map how people move through your touchpoints, from the first ad they see to the checkout. You’ll spot where they hesitate, lose interest, get distracted by something else, or drop off entirely.

Spend smarter on ads — Proper attribution for ecommerce can help you forget about throwing money at broad targeting. You can pinpoint which ads bring in real customers and not just clicks.

Understand how customers buy — The best component of marketing attribution is that it reveals behavioral patterns. This means not only where customers come from but also how long people take to purchase, how many touchpoints they need, and what nudges finally push them over the edge.

Keep up in a crowded market — Advertising costs are indeed climbing, and competition in the ecommerce sector is getting crowded. But businesses that continue to thrive are the ones that know, with data-backed certainty, where to invest their time and money.

Improve retention, not just acquisition — Focusing only on finding customers is not the best tactic, you also need to emphasize what keeps them coming back. Attribution can help crack the code for both and help single out the post-purchase touchpoints that turn one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Make creative decisions backed by data — Attribution can do more than just inform budgets. Your content creation can also reap substantial advantages as you can use it to gauge which messages, campaigns, visuals, or promotions speak the most to your buyers.

Types of Ecommerce Attribution Models

There are several attribution modeling options available for online stores. Let’s break down the most common types of attribution modeling and when they are most suitable.

Single-Touch Ecommerce Attribution

This type gives full credit for a sale to just one interaction along the customer’s journey. It’s a clean and simple method that you can quickly implement, and it’s even easier to analyze.

But keep in mind that simplicity comes at a cost. These models often overlook the nuance of modern shopping behavior, where purchases rarely happen in a straight line. If your ecommerce business has multiple touchpoints or more complex sales cycles, we don’t recommend relying on a single touchpoint, as you may miss the bigger picture.

1. First Interaction Attribution

If there were a better name for the first interaction attribution, it would be the spark that started it all. The very first interaction a customer has with your brand receives the entire credit, no matter how many steps follow before they actually buy.

Let’s say Emma is searching for her perfect running shoes. A Facebook ad for a sleek new pair of Nikes grabs her attention, so she clicks through to the website. However, she’s still unsure whether they’re perfect, so she leaves the decision for another day. Emma checks out reviews, visits the site a few more times to make sure she genuinely likes them, and finally moves from “add to cart” to “purchase” after getting a personalized discount email. But in a first-click model, none of those later touchpoints matter, instead, the Facebook ad will get all the credit.

2. Final Step Attribution

The final interaction before a purchase is the sole conclusive factor in this kind of ecommerce attribution. Hence, you won’t get information about everything that came before.

If someone wants to buy a high-end blender from your ecommerce store, last-click attribution might tell you the sale came from a retargeting ad. The trick is, it won’t show that your customer first saw your brand on Instagram or read reviews on your online shop’s website.

3. Last Marketing Influence

As much as every business owner would like that, most customers don’t just stumble onto a storefront and buy something out of nowhere. They’re nudged along by striking ads, discounts, content, emails, etc., before finally making up their minds.

Non-direct last-click attribution is there to help you figure out which of those nudges made a difference by ignoring direct traffic (or the visits where someone types in a URL and goes straight to checkout). Instead, the last marketing-driven interaction before that final step gets the credit.

Say, a customer found an excellent espresso machine on YouTube, clicked on a Google ad right after, and then opened an email saying shipping will be free. They left the decision to marinate for a few days and later bought the coffee machine after typing in the brand’s name. While standard last-click would credit the direct visit, non-direct last-click will see the email as the real closer.

Multi-Touch Attribution for Ecommerce

What is multi-touch attribution in ecommerce? In this case, no single ad, social media platform, email, or other marketing touchpoint works in isolation. So, even if ecommerce customers take a winding path to their purchase, you can weigh the influence of multiple touchpoints that influence their decisions along the way.

Neither the first nor the last interaction gets all the credit. These models distribute it across the entire journey, meaning you receive a more detailed picture of what pushes conversions forward.

1. Linear Attribution

The linear attribution model plays fair, at least on the surface. Every touchpoint in your customer’s journey gets the same amount of credit, whether a fleeting glance or a decisive moment.

As a result, you won’t have to worry that the model favored the first interaction that sparked interest or the final push that made the buyer go for your product because all steps receive equal treatment.

How does that look in practice? Take Jordan, a college student looking for new sportswear. As he scrolls through his favorite app, TikTok, he finds a popular influencer wearing a trending hoodie. A week later, a retargeting ad on Instagram reminds Jordan of the hoodie, and finally, a 10% off email turns him into a paying customer. A linear model takes an even approach and rewards each of these steps with the same amount of credit for the sale.

2. U-Shaped Attribution

But what if some steps matter more than others? The U model, also known as position-based attribution, acknowledges the different values each touchpoint has and gives the most credit to the first and the last.

The reasoning? The first interaction evidently sparks awareness, while the final one settles the deal. Everything in between still counts but to a lesser extent.

For instance, Karen first discovers your skincare product ad scrolling through her Facebook feed, later browses your ecommerce store’s blog to get more intel on the beauty product, and finally buys after receiving a push notification about low stock. In this case, the Facebook ad and the push notification would each receive 40% of the credit. But the blog? Just 20%.

3. W-Shaped Attribution

Unlike the previous model, the W-shaped model recognizes three defining moments for each customer. This is beyond helpful because neither the first impression nor the final push works in isolation, needing other steps in the journey to convince a person to purchase. The W-shaped attribution gives equal weight to the initial spark of interest, the moment a lead is captured, and the final conversion.

Josh sees an Instagram ad for cool headphones, he clicks but doesn’t bite just yet. Some days later, he sees the product again on Google Shopping, browses your ecommerce store for options, and signs up for the newsletter. Then, an email stating that the flash sale for the item is ending soon compels him to buy the headphones.

That first ad, the newsletter signup, and the flash sale email each get 30% of the credit. The remaining 10% is distributed among the smaller nudges along the way.

4. Time-Decay Attribution

In some instances, the closer a customer is to the moment of purchase, the more vital the intentional marketing efforts are. Time-decay attribution assigns more credit to interactions that occur later in the journey.

Kieth scrolls through a gaming subreddit and stumbles across an ad for a new gaming laptop. He doesn’t take action but remembers the brand. A few days later, he sees a sponsored video ad on YouTube showing off the laptop’s specs. This time around, he’s curious enough to visit the website and sees a sign-up form to join a live Q&A session with a product expert. After the session, Kieth gets a push notification with an exclusive promo code for participants and uses it to buy the laptop.

In this event, the Q&A session and push notification with the promo code will receive the most recognition, while earlier interactions get a smaller share, reflecting how urgency affects buying decisions.

5. Paid-Only Attribution

Not all marketing efforts cost money, but some businesses only care about what they’re paying for. Paid-only attribution is for those who want to know one thing: which paid efforts drive their sales.

This model, therefore, ignores organic touchpoints like SEO traffic or blog visits and focuses entirely on conversions from ads, sponsorships, influencer campaigns, and other paid activities. Add ecommerce ad-tracking solutions to that mix, and you can reach under the surface, filtering out the paid strategies that deliver returns and those that drain your budget without results.

How to Choose the Best Attribution Model for Ecommerce Use

No attribution model is ideal, as customers make so many stops and turns in their journey before deciding they found the right product. You should strive to find the best approach in terms of attribution for ecommerce usage based on your needs, goals, the complexity of your sales funnel, and customer behavior.

Is your goal to improve brand awareness or get more repeat customers? Or perhaps you want ways to lower the cart abandonment rate? Questions like these should guide you toward the most compatible model.

Here’s a short guide to make your decision easier:

• If your goal is raising brand awareness, first interaction attribution may be your best bet for drawing in new customers, as it centers around understanding which channels spark the initial interest.
• Last-touch attribution can be suitable if conversion optimization is your goal, as it can help determine which marketing activity is the sale clincher and is a good choice if you aim to zero in on the touchpoints that seal the deal.
• If you aim to lower cart abandonment rates or shorten the sales cycle, the time-decay model can help determine which touchpoints re-engage customers, bringing them back to complete their purchase.
• U-shaped attribution is excellent for a broader view of the customer journey since it gives weight to both the early stages and the final push. Such position-based attribution can be beneficial if you’d like to increase the Average Order Value metric.
• Use the linear model for an even-handed approach that allows you to understand how every interaction contributes without overemphasizing any single step.
• The W-shaped attribution is perfect for optimizing specific stages of your funnel and customer journey, especially if you want to focus on key milestones.

Common Attribution Model Implementation Challenges for Ecommerce Businesses

Moving from theory to practice might be tough, though. Why can it be tricky for an ecommerce business to implement attribution models? And what can lead to incorrect attribution? Here are a few main points worth noting.

As mentioned previously, ecommerce customers rarely follow a linear path to purchase. The complexity of customer journeys with multiple touchpoints can make it difficult to assign credit to each interaction accurately. After all, each path is unique and unpredictable, so only a properly chosen and robust attribution model can help determine what matters most.

On a similar note, multi-device tracking can be another barrier alongside cross-channel marketing. Users often switch between their laptops, smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets. But no interactions should be lost for a complete panorama, which you probably won’t see without advanced tracking tools.

What is more, data fragmentation is an obstacle too, since missing or duplicated data can skew attribution results. When data is scattered across multiple platforms that the ecommerce business uses, getting a holistic view might be problematic. The hardest part is connecting data that’s scattered across ad campaign platforms, website analytics tools, CRM systems, email platforms, social media dashboards, and so on.

Finally, there could also be integration challenges. Varying data structures and metrics on different platforms (like Google Ads, Facebook Ads Manager, and so on) can also make integration difficult. Sophisticated analytics solutions require merging data correctly so that there’s consistency across platforms and metrics.

Hence, handling attribution models might not be a piece of cake if you haven’t done it before. But it’s integral for strong e-commerce analytics and revealing which marketing dollars are doing the actual work and which are just noise.

How to Adopt the Best Attribution Model for Ecommerce

So where do you take off if you want your ecommerce store to use attribution modeling to its advantage? Here’s a step-by-step walk-through outlining the core process.

Step 1: Begin by Choosing an Attribution Model

Start off by determining which models are most appropriate for your current ecommerce case. Identify your primary objectives and then shortlist one or several models you want to use. You may choose a model that meets your goals, whether it’s awareness, conversions, lifetime value, or others.

Simple models are easy but miss nuances. Meanwhile, multi-touch models offer insights but require more data. We gave tips and examples on how to make up your mind in one of the earlier sections.

Step 2: Select a Centralized Ad Tracking Platform

You’ll need a platform to integrate your tracking and attribution efforts. Look for solutions that cover different points, including multi-channel cross-device tracking and compliance with privacy laws. Although there are lots of options available, you should give preference to the ad-tracking software that has tailored solutions for ecommerce businesses.

Step 3: Set Up the Ad Tracking Platform

Handling the settings usually requires some technical expertise and effort. But if your ecommerce team doesn’t have the skills in-house, make sure you’ve chosen a platform that provides such support. For example, RedTrack has integrations with Shopify and offers support with the tool’s integration and adoption.

Step 4: Centralize Data on All Channels

Your ecommerce business most likely has multiple marketing channels. Therefore, you have to work on unifying the data generated from your paid ads, email campaigns, social media accounts, and so on. Your ad tracking platform will serve as a data warehouse for centralizing data collection and analysis according to the selected attribution path.

Step 5: Monitor and Analyze the Data

When your tool is all set up, you’ll start getting data pulled into a single source. But you have to understand what you see and act on the insights. That’s why solutions like RedTrack consolidate all the findings into a single dashboard, revealing and visualizing how each touchpoint performs and contributes to conversions.

Step 6: Test and Modify the Attribution Models

Handling ecommerce attribution isn’t done by a single recipe. So it is best to put various models to the test. This way, you’ll see which option provides the most actionable insights for your business. Refine your strategy, adjust your tools, and over time, you’ll be gaining even more from effective and accurate data collection.

Major Takeaways on Ecommerce Attribution

Why stumble in the dark and guess whether it’s social media, ads, or something else that contributes to conversions? By adopting the best attribution model for ecommerce you can transform uncertainty into a factual strategy.

Advanced tools like RedTrack are excellent for getting real-time insights while also tracking every step of the funnel and optimizing your ad spend. It can easily connect your data and help you make data-driven decisions so you know exactly where to invest for the most optimal returns. If you want to learn more about how your ecommerce business can boost ROI with such a solution, feel free to book a demo or reach out to us to share your case!