Ecommerce stores run on an increasingly complex combination of apps and extensions. It can be hard to obtain a “single source of truth” from the data generated by all these tools. For example, if your Google Analytics data doesn’t match up with your Shopify data, you might make the wrong business decisions based on flawed information which can really hurt your performance in the long run.

Fortunately, data attribution apps can bring clarity and context to help you make better business choices. By assisting with the accurate attribution of data (be this sales, marketing, or any other aspect of your brand’s operation) this valuable range of tools help optimize and improve  upon the metrics that matter.. 

Selling across a wide range of channels? Serious about tracking detailed performance metrics? Data attribution offers the most advantage to well-established, scaling businesses with complex sales and marketing models. If your business falls within this bracket, and you’re looking to implement targeted improvements, accurate data attribution will undoubtedly place you at an advantage.

Data attribution apps really come into their own when you start to look under the hood of your store. But for this insight to help you action real change, you’ll need to be generating decent data in the first place. This means a reliable cadence of sales at decent scale – anything over 100 sales per day.

You can uncover untapped potential hidden in patterns that your Ecommerce platform might not be tracking and presenting optimally. If you’re selling through subscriptions, investing in multichannel marketing, generating affiliate revenue or looking to drive conversion across an expanding range of channels, data attribution can help bring clarity to what is working (and what is not).

A wide range of operators can use and manage your data attribution tools - it depends on how your business is structured and your overarching goals.. Some of these apps are focused on improving marketing data attribution, while others will be more aligned to customer analytics and sales attribution. As a result, while management will fall to Head of Data Analytics, the Director of Ecommerce, Head of Marketing and COO will also be likely to take a proactive interest.

When looking to implement a data attribution app, be mindful of the integrations you’ll need for it to be successful and make sure that the options you are vetting align with your existing stack. Compatibility with your Ecommerce platform of choice is essential, but you’ll also want to check that it will connect to the apps or services you use for billing, subscription management or affiliate marketing.

Be sure to invest in a tool that will deliver excellent user experience and intuitive reporting. Some data attribution apps will also include the ability to run automated auditing. This process helps you get a better understanding of what’s working in the tracking you have set up, and what might still be in need of improvement.