New research has questioned whether single-source attribution models really are at risk of dying out in the US as advertisers pursue their interest in the multi-touch approach.
Fresh insights from Affiliate Window, the global performance marketing network, suggest that at least 90% of affiliate-assisted transactions involving products related to retail, ticketing or travel are influenced by just one publisher.
Single interaction purchases were at their highest in the ticketing sector, where 96% of all sales involving affiliates saw the customer interact with just one referrer. A similar story was evident for travel firms and online retailers, who saw 95% and 94.83% of their sales driven by a single publisher.
According to Affiliate Window, this shatters the misconception that each customer will go through a number of different affiliates before they finally make a decision on what to buy. In proving as much, the results hinted that paying out commission to just one publisher in light of a sale may not be the unfair practice it seems.
Myth buster
By analysing data from its extensive network of US publishers and advertisers, looking into trends across various sectors, Affiliate Window went about refuting another misconception – this time involving cashback sites and their ability to undermine the efforts of content publishers.
Several parties across the global performance industry have raised concerns over the way discount providers can ‘steal’ commission offered by advertisers that only pay-out on the final click.
The study claimed that while there is evidence of US customers opting for one offer over another, the comparison will typically involve two publishers of the same type. Therefore affiliates should only worry about competition from sites with a similar offering to their own.
Cashback produces higher AOV
In yet more defensive work for cashback sites, Affiliate Window also showed that US customers that shop through these publishers typically convert with high basket values.
This was especially the case in the fashion sector, where cashback sites drove the highest average order values (AOV) out of all the publishers listed.
Notes from the study hinted that advertisers can put this to good effect by using their cashback publishers to drive sales of top-end goods.
“By understanding the high margin items, cashback publishers can focus their efforts on driving value by concentrating specifically on these products.
“Additionally, by putting a minimal spend against purchases to qualify for cashback, basket values can be significantly improved.”