When it comes to attribution, e-commerce companies are facing a significant challenge with several factors causing something of a perfect storm. There’s attribution overlap, where different platforms all claim the same conversion, signal loss, fragmented customer journeys, and profit visibility issues. Not to mention cross-device identity problems, where incomplete identity data results in the generation of unreliable information. The solution? You need a multi-touch attribution platform (MTA) to give you accurate marketing data and discover the campaigns, channels, and more that are truly delivering for you. We round up the best of the bunch below.
Why E-Commerce Brands Need MTA
Dealing with messy data and hard-to-understand customer journeys is often part and parcel of running an e-commerce business. Problems include:
- Google, Meta, and email platforms all claim the same conversions.
- Privacy changes may hide or obscure a large chunk of tracking data.
- People typically shop across a variety of devices, browsers, and apps.
- Putting a focus on the final click to conversions means not enough emphasis is placed on important upstream actions.
- Traditional data may reveal what captured demand, but not what created it.
At its heart, MTA helps you spend money where it’ll work hardest, not where an ad platform claims it works.
Best-in-Class MTA Platforms for E-Commerce
Admetrics
This platform doesn’t just track sales but profit per product, showing the channels which genuinely drive profitable customers, and the ones that don’t. Admetrics pulls in product costs, discounts, shipping, and returns to reveal the true margin behind each campaign. It may be best for Google and Meta heavy spenders who want to take the guesswork out of their marketing strategy.
Northbeam
Northbeam provides a clear overview of how Google, Meta, TikTok, and email work together, and is generally a good fit for fast-growing direct-to-customer brands that are scaling paid search and social. Brands tend to like this solution as it helps them determine whether Meta is really driving demand or Google is simply scooping up that all-important last click.
Triple Whale
This option recovers lost tracking data and displays blended ROAS across all channels using a first-party pixel. Shopify and creative-focused brands that rely on Meta ads may find Triple Whale a good fit, as it shows which videos, ads, and hooks really have an effect to provide a clear picture of what’s really going on.
SegmentStream
SegmentStream deploys machine learning to figure out which channels influenced the sale, rather than focusing on the final click that scored the conversion, with each visit assigned a score. This platform may be particularly helpful for brands investing heavily in awareness.
Rockerbox
Generally best for enterprise-grade organizations, Rockerbox collects data from lots of sources (including organic, paid, affiliate, and influencer) to provide a single unified view of overall performance. Brands typically rate Rockerbox’s flexibility and like the fact that it can be customized to match specific attribution rules.
Polar Analytics
Polar Analytics helps businesses cut wasted marketing spend by showing contribution margin by product and campaign. The platform is generally best for e-commerce brands wanting to optimize based on profit, rather than revenue, and businesses with wide-ranging product catalogs keen to understand which items are driving healthy growth.
HoneyStack
This option handles more complicated funnels where customers may subscribe, buy, or talk to sales, and could be worth considering by brands that have a hybrid e-commerce and subscription model. HoneyStack gives teams a clear picture of long, complicated customer journeys, so it’s easy to understand how different elements and actions work together to promote conversions.
How AppsFlyer Goes Beyond MTA to Give a Complete Picture
The AppsFlyer solution is way more than just another MTA tool. It provides an additional, powerful layer of measurement. Here’s what it does:
- Handles attribution in a privacy-safe manner.
- Uses server-side tracking so data isn’t lost to browser blockers.
- Offers not just attribution but incrementality testing, crucial for e-commerce enterprises.
- Incorporates a clean data room, so you can safely combine data with partners.
- Works across web, apps, paid media, and retail media, rather than just ads.
AppsFlyer’s platform sits above traditional MTA tools to give you clear, consistent, and reliable data so you can see exactly how customers behave, the journeys they take, and the things that actually drive conversions.