Advertising · Observational causal-estimation study using customer-level behavior and transactions
Linking Clicks to Bricks: Understanding the Effects of Email Advertising on Multichannel Sales
Information Systems Research · 2025
Summary
Email advertising was associated with increased sales across channels through higher purchase probability and a wider variety of products bought; effects varied across product types and customer segments.
For your marketing
Possible founder application
Encourages measuring email's full downstream value rather than clicks alone. For SaaS, connect email exposure to later product activation, opportunities, and revenue with a credible design.
Reported result
What the study found
Email advertising was associated with increased sales across channels through higher purchase probability and a wider variety of products bought; effects varied across product types and customer segments.
Research question
What the authors investigated
Do email ads affect sales beyond online clicks, including purchases in physical stores?
Design
Customer-level observational analysis using a doubly robust estimator with nonparametric machine-learning methods.
Sample and setting
High-dimensional data from a large office-supplies retailer linking online behavior to item-level physical-store purchases.
Scope and transfer
Limitations to keep in view
This is an observational causal-estimation design in one retailer, not a randomized test. It may not transfer to SaaS products without physical sales channels.
Research sources
INFORMS publisher abstract retrieved with Firecrawl; method and results are represented at abstract level.