How accurate is Klaviyo's revenue attribution?

Klaviyo uses a default 5-day last-touch attribution window, which means any purchase within 5 days of opening or clicking an email gets attributed to Klaviyo — even if the customer was already going to buy. Industry research suggests 30-60% of Klaviyo-attributed revenue would have happened anyway, especially for flows like Browse Abandonment and repeat purchase reminders.

What is email incrementality?

Email incrementality measures the revenue that email marketing truly generates — purchases that would NOT have happened without the email. It's different from attributed revenue, which includes purchases that would have occurred regardless. True incrementality is typically 40-70% of what Klaviyo reports.

Why does Klaviyo over-report revenue?

Three main reasons: 1) Default 5-day attribution window is too generous — a customer researching for days gets attributed to the last email they opened. 2) Apple Mail Privacy inflates open rates, triggering false attributions. 3) Subscription and repeat purchases are attributed to emails even when customers would reorder anyway.

How does the Email Incrementality Analyzer work?

Parker analyzes your Klaviyo data against several factors: flow type (Welcome vs. Browse Abandonment have different incrementality), purchase timing patterns, customer purchase history, and industry benchmarks from holdout tests. This produces an estimated true incrementality score for each flow and overall.

Which email flows have the lowest incrementality?

Browse Abandonment flows typically have 20-35% true incrementality — most of these customers were just browsing and wouldn't buy anyway. Repeat Purchase Reminders for subscription-like products are similar. Cart Abandonment has higher incrementality (50-70%) because these customers showed clear purchase intent.

What should I do if my email incrementality is low?

Low incrementality doesn't mean email is useless — it means you're over-crediting it. Actions: 1) Shorten attribution windows to 1-2 days for more accurate measurement. 2) Run holdout tests on low-incrementality flows. 3) Reallocate some email budget to truly incremental channels. 4) Focus email efforts on high-incrementality flows like Winback and Cart Abandonment.

How do I run a proper email holdout test?

A holdout test randomly excludes 10-20% of your audience from receiving emails for 30-60 days, then compares purchase rates between groups. The difference is your true incrementality. Parker can help you design a proper holdout test and calculate required sample sizes for statistical significance.

Email incrementality analyzer

How much of your Klaviyo revenue is truly incremental vs. stolen from other channels?

Klaviyo-Attributed Revenue (Monthly) *

What Klaviyo reports as email-attributed revenue

Total Store Revenue (Monthly) *

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