Understanding Sales Attribution
This guide explains how sales attribution works in Sender, how revenue is credited to your campaigns and automations, and how you can interpret your performance data.
Where to Find This Feature
In the Sender dashboard, attributed revenue and order data appear automatically in your campaign and automation reports under Ecommerce reports. There is no setup required; once your store is connected, attribution begins working out of the box.
How Sales Attribution Works
Sales attribution credits a sale to the marketing message that influenced your customer to make a purchase. When a contact engages with an email or SMS (by opening or clicking it) and then places an order within a defined timeframe, the sale is attributed to that message.
This gives you a clear picture of which campaigns and automations are actually driving revenue, rather than guessing based on opens and clicks alone.
Attribution Touch Points
A sale is only attributed if the contact actively engages with the message. Simply receiving a message does not qualify for attribution.
For email, attribution is triggered by:
- An open
- A click
For SMS, attribution is triggered by:
- A delivery (limited window — see below)
- A click
Default Attribution Windows
The attribution window is the timeframe during which a customer must place an order after engaging with a message for the sale to be credited. Sender applies different default windows depending on the channel and the type of engagement:
| Engagement Type | Default Window |
|---|---|
| Email click | 5 days |
| Email open | 5 days |
| SMS click | 5 days |
| SMS delivery | 12 hours |
Example:
- A customer clicks an email on Monday morning
- They place an order on Thursday evening
- The sale is attributed to that email because the order falls within the 5-day window
If the same customer placed the order the following Tuesday — outside the 5-day window — the sale would not be attributed.
Last-Touch Attribution
When a customer engages with multiple messages before placing an order, the sale is attributed to the most recent message they engaged with, as long as it falls within its attribution window.
Example:
- A customer clicks an email on Monday
- The same customer clicks an SMS on Wednesday
- They place an order on Thursday
The sale is attributed to the SMS, because it was the most recent touchpoint within its window. This approach helps you identify which messages actually close the sale, so you can focus on high-conversion channels.
Multiple Orders Within the Same Window
If a customer places several orders after engaging with a single message, every order that falls within the attribution window is credited to that message.
Example:
- A customer clicks an email on Monday
- They place one order on Tuesday and another on Thursday
- Both orders are attributed to that email
Refunds and Cancellations
Attributed sales reflect orders at the time of purchase. If an order is later refunded or canceled, the original attribution remains in your reports. This keeps historical metrics consistent across time and avoids retroactively changing previously published numbers.
What Happens Next
Once your store is connected and you start sending campaigns, attributed sales data begins appearing automatically in your reports.
Common Issues
Sales not appearing in reports → Confirm your store is connected to Sender under Account Settings → Connected stores, and verify that the customer who placed the order exists as a contact in your subscriber list. Sales can only be attributed to contacts known to your Sender account.
Order placed but not attributed → Check whether the contact actually opened or clicked the message before placing the order. Receiving a message alone does not trigger attribution. Also, confirm the order was placed within the relevant attribution window (5 days for most engagement types, 12 hours for SMS delivery).
Revenue numbers differ from your store platform → Sender uses engagement-based attribution with defined windows, while your store platform may attribute sales differently (for example, by direct referral, last-click, or UTM tag). Differences between the two systems are expected and both can be accurate — they simply measure different things.
Discount code used but no attribution recorded → If a customer used a code from an email without opening or clicking the email beforehand, no attribution is recorded. The customer may have received the code from another source, forwarded the email, or had the tracking pixel blocked by their email client (e.g., Apple Mail Privacy Protection without a click).
FAQs
What’s the difference between sales attribution and direct revenue tracking? Sales attribution credits a sale to the message a customer engaged with before purchasing, even if the purchase happened in a separate browser session or from a different device. Direct revenue tracking typically only counts purchases made by clicking a link in the email itself. Attribution gives you a fuller picture of your marketing impact.
Do opens from Apple Mail Privacy Protection count for attribution? Yes. Apple Mail Privacy Protection automatically pre-loads emails, which Sender records as an open. These opens count toward attribution, so if a contact using Apple Mail later places an order within the attribution window, the sale will be credited. To focus on stronger engagement signals, prioritize clicks over opens when analyzing campaign performance.
Are refunds and cancellations included in attributed sales? Yes. Attributed sales are based on placed orders at the time of purchase. If an order is later refunded or canceled, the original attribution is preserved in your reports to maintain consistent metrics across time.
What happens if a customer engages with both an email and an SMS before purchasing? The sale is attributed to the most recent message the customer engaged with (last-touch attribution), as long as it falls within that message’s attribution window.
Why is a sale attributed to a contact who didn’t place the order? This can happen when one contact engages with the message (for example, a spouse or family member who shares an account), but a different contact completes the order using the same cart or discount code. Sender attributes the sale to the contact who actually engaged with the message, since their engagement is what influenced the purchase.
Can I change the default attribution windows? The current defaults are 5 days for email clicks, email opens, and SMS clicks, and 12 hours for SMS deliveries.
If you got stuck on a specific task or can’t find a way to execute a particular job, contact our support team via LiveChat or support@sender.net — we’re here to help 24/7.