Attributing Conversions in a Multichannel Online Marketing Environment: An Empirical Model and a Field Experiment

For your marketing

Possible founder application

A useful framework for considering channel sequence, carryover, and retargeting harm when last-click reports over-credit later touches. Pair modeled attribution with holdouts where feasible.

Reported result

What the study found

Attribution based on estimated channel effects differed significantly from common metrics. The model also identified cases where retargeting could decrease conversion probability.

Research question

What the authors investigated

How can channel contribution be estimated while accounting for customer consideration, visits, carryover, and cross-channel effects?

Design

Proposes an individual-level multichannel model and validates estimated incremental channel effects with a field study.

Sample and setting

Individual customer touchpoint histories and subsequent website purchases; the accessible abstract does not give sample size or business category.

Scope and transfer

Limitations to keep in view

The abstract provides limited detail on the validation sample and assumptions. Attribution depends on the model and available touchpoint data and should not be treated as a randomized causal result for every channel.

Research sources

SAGE publisher abstract retrieved with Firecrawl; full text and further design details were not inspected.