Sue Azari, Industry Lead ecommerce at AppsFlyer takes a look at how to tame complex measurement and attribution across multi – and multiplying – channels
The more connected our world becomes, the harder it is to connect the dots. Nowhere is this more apparent than in modern marketing measurement. Today’s customer journey rarely follows a straight line. A consumer might see a TV advert, search for the brand on their smartphone, browse offers on a laptop, download an app to a tablet the following day, and finally complete a purchase in-store.
For marketers, that complexity has made accurate attribution feel almost impossible. Campaigns run across multiple devices and channels simultaneously. Yet traditional measurement frameworks were never designed to account for such fragmented behaviour. The result has been a steady erosion of confidence in ROI reporting and budget allocation. Rebuilding that confidence is now a strategic priority.
Fragmented customer journeys
Consumer behaviour has undergone a massive shift over the past decade. The rise of mobile fundamentally altered how people discover, evaluate and purchase products. Today, individuals consume content across multiple devices at the same time.
It is common for someone to see a product on television while browsing social media on their phone. They might research reviews on a laptop and complete the purchase via an app. This overlapping, multi-screen exposure has become the norm rather than the exception.
For marketers who once operated within relatively contained channels this has created a structural problem. Silos were manageable when touchpoints were limited. But in an omnichannel world, those silos obscure the full picture.
The challenge is particularly acute in categories with blended online and offline dynamics. Consider a household brand such as Colgate-Palmolive running a national campaign. If the advertising drives in-store sales at Sainsbury’s, but the measurement framework only tracks digital clicks, marketers risk misattributing – or entirely missing – the campaign’s true impact.
The sale is often credited to the last click. Yet the last click is typically only a small part of a much larger story.
Marketing with blinkers on
As customer journeys became more complex, attribution models struggled to keep pace. The central challenge is no longer collecting data but stitching it together across channels.
Marketers attempted to solve the problem within existing structures. Separate teams measured web performance, connected TV impact, mobile app installs and offline sales independently. Data specialists were hired to reconcile reports manually. Sophisticated modelling techniques were deployed in isolation. But the underlying issue persisted: the data lived in silos.
Each channel optimised for its own metrics and, in many cases, competed for credit. Performance teams wanted recognition for conversions. Brand teams emphasised awareness. Retail teams tracked store uplift. The compound effect was confusion and internal friction.
Legacy organisations undergoing digital transformation found this particularly painful. They were not only adapting to new platforms but also trying to retrofit modern measurement onto outdated infrastructure. It was like marketing with blinkers on. Making high-stakes investment decisions without a full field of vision.
The cost of poor attribution goes beyond reporting inaccuracies. When marketers cannot clearly see which channels are driving incremental value, they struggle to determine where to invest. Budget allocation, therefore, becomes reactive rather than strategic.
The data collaboration imperative
Rebuilding measurement confidence requires a fundamental shift from isolated tracking to collaborative data integration. The goal is not merely to measure digital interactions, but to understand how digital activity influences offline outcomes and vice versa. That means connecting campaign exposure to in-store sales, integrating CRM data with paid media performance, and aligning app behaviour with broader business metrics.
This is where data collaboration becomes critical. By securely integrating datasets across partners and platforms, organisations can build a more holistic view of performance. One that spans both digital and physical environments.
Mobile attribution provides a useful blueprint. Mobile is arguably the most performance-driven channel in existence. Its sophistication led to the creation of multiple mobile measurement partners (MMPs), each developing advanced attribution methodologies. Unlike other channels, which typically consolidated around one or two major players, mobile innovation created an ecosystem of specialised solutions.
Now, those mobile-born measurement principles are being applied more broadly. Advanced attribution frameworks can sit above legacy tools, harmonising disparate data sources and translating them into unified insights. Rather than replacing existing systems, they connect and contextualise them.
For web-native businesses operating solely online, this may be less urgent. But for most modern enterprises that sell across multiple channels, regions and platforms, the ability to integrate measurement across environments is essential.
The modern marketing cloud
Measurement integration alone is no longer enough. The sheer volume and velocity of data now require another layer of intelligence. This is where the concept of the modern marketing cloud comes into play. Platforms such as AppsFlyer are evolving from attribution tools into central hubs for digital marketing activity. They aggregate performance data, standardise measurement and provide a foundation upon which more advanced capabilities can be built.
AI can then sit on top of this foundation. It does not replace strategic thinking. Rather, it acts as a force multiplier. Operating at a scale, speed and consistency that human teams cannot match. It enables marketers to process vast datasets, identify patterns and execute micro-optimisations continuously across channels.
For growth teams, this unlocks hyper-personalisation at the individual level. AI can tailor messaging, creative and offers based on user behaviour, predicted value and intent signals. User acquisition creative can dynamically align with app store experiences. Onboarding flows can adjust based on acquisition source. CRM messaging can evolve as user engagement deepens. The impact is not a single uplift but a compounding effect of relevance. When every stage of the funnel is aligned and optimised, incremental gains accumulate into meaningful growth.
The road ahead
Growth marketing is reaching an inflection point. Attention is already the scarcest resource in marketing. Yet, continuing to run tried-and-tested playbooks within rigid silos is becoming increasingly untenable. The challenge of attribution is a problem that is not going to go away. As AI accelerates digital transformation, more interactions will generate data. New platforms will emerge. Additional touchpoints will multiply. Consumers themselves will become more digitised, engaging across an expanding ecosystem of devices and channels.
Rebuilding measurement confidence is a strategic necessity. In an era defined by complexity, clarity becomes competitive advantage. Organisations that can see the full picture across multiple devices, channels and environments will not only measure more effectively, but market more intelligently.
Author
Sue Azari is Industry Lead eCommerce, AppsFlyer
You are in: Home » Retail Media » GUEST COMMENT Rebuilding measurement confidence in an omnichannel world
GUEST COMMENT Rebuilding measurement confidence in an omnichannel world
Paul Skeldon
Sue Azari, Industry Lead ecommerce at AppsFlyer takes a look at how to tame complex measurement and attribution across multi – and multiplying – channels
The more connected our world becomes, the harder it is to connect the dots. Nowhere is this more apparent than in modern marketing measurement. Today’s customer journey rarely follows a straight line. A consumer might see a TV advert, search for the brand on their smartphone, browse offers on a laptop, download an app to a tablet the following day, and finally complete a purchase in-store.
For marketers, that complexity has made accurate attribution feel almost impossible. Campaigns run across multiple devices and channels simultaneously. Yet traditional measurement frameworks were never designed to account for such fragmented behaviour. The result has been a steady erosion of confidence in ROI reporting and budget allocation. Rebuilding that confidence is now a strategic priority.
Fragmented customer journeys
Consumer behaviour has undergone a massive shift over the past decade. The rise of mobile fundamentally altered how people discover, evaluate and purchase products. Today, individuals consume content across multiple devices at the same time.
It is common for someone to see a product on television while browsing social media on their phone. They might research reviews on a laptop and complete the purchase via an app. This overlapping, multi-screen exposure has become the norm rather than the exception.
For marketers who once operated within relatively contained channels this has created a structural problem. Silos were manageable when touchpoints were limited. But in an omnichannel world, those silos obscure the full picture.
The challenge is particularly acute in categories with blended online and offline dynamics. Consider a household brand such as Colgate-Palmolive running a national campaign. If the advertising drives in-store sales at Sainsbury’s, but the measurement framework only tracks digital clicks, marketers risk misattributing – or entirely missing – the campaign’s true impact.
The sale is often credited to the last click. Yet the last click is typically only a small part of a much larger story.
Marketing with blinkers on
As customer journeys became more complex, attribution models struggled to keep pace. The central challenge is no longer collecting data but stitching it together across channels.
Marketers attempted to solve the problem within existing structures. Separate teams measured web performance, connected TV impact, mobile app installs and offline sales independently. Data specialists were hired to reconcile reports manually. Sophisticated modelling techniques were deployed in isolation. But the underlying issue persisted: the data lived in silos.
Each channel optimised for its own metrics and, in many cases, competed for credit. Performance teams wanted recognition for conversions. Brand teams emphasised awareness. Retail teams tracked store uplift. The compound effect was confusion and internal friction.
Legacy organisations undergoing digital transformation found this particularly painful. They were not only adapting to new platforms but also trying to retrofit modern measurement onto outdated infrastructure. It was like marketing with blinkers on. Making high-stakes investment decisions without a full field of vision.
The cost of poor attribution goes beyond reporting inaccuracies. When marketers cannot clearly see which channels are driving incremental value, they struggle to determine where to invest. Budget allocation, therefore, becomes reactive rather than strategic.
The data collaboration imperative
Rebuilding measurement confidence requires a fundamental shift from isolated tracking to collaborative data integration. The goal is not merely to measure digital interactions, but to understand how digital activity influences offline outcomes and vice versa. That means connecting campaign exposure to in-store sales, integrating CRM data with paid media performance, and aligning app behaviour with broader business metrics.
This is where data collaboration becomes critical. By securely integrating datasets across partners and platforms, organisations can build a more holistic view of performance. One that spans both digital and physical environments.
Mobile attribution provides a useful blueprint. Mobile is arguably the most performance-driven channel in existence. Its sophistication led to the creation of multiple mobile measurement partners (MMPs), each developing advanced attribution methodologies. Unlike other channels, which typically consolidated around one or two major players, mobile innovation created an ecosystem of specialised solutions.
Now, those mobile-born measurement principles are being applied more broadly. Advanced attribution frameworks can sit above legacy tools, harmonising disparate data sources and translating them into unified insights. Rather than replacing existing systems, they connect and contextualise them.
For web-native businesses operating solely online, this may be less urgent. But for most modern enterprises that sell across multiple channels, regions and platforms, the ability to integrate measurement across environments is essential.
The modern marketing cloud
Measurement integration alone is no longer enough. The sheer volume and velocity of data now require another layer of intelligence. This is where the concept of the modern marketing cloud comes into play. Platforms such as AppsFlyer are evolving from attribution tools into central hubs for digital marketing activity. They aggregate performance data, standardise measurement and provide a foundation upon which more advanced capabilities can be built.
AI can then sit on top of this foundation. It does not replace strategic thinking. Rather, it acts as a force multiplier. Operating at a scale, speed and consistency that human teams cannot match. It enables marketers to process vast datasets, identify patterns and execute micro-optimisations continuously across channels.
For growth teams, this unlocks hyper-personalisation at the individual level. AI can tailor messaging, creative and offers based on user behaviour, predicted value and intent signals. User acquisition creative can dynamically align with app store experiences. Onboarding flows can adjust based on acquisition source. CRM messaging can evolve as user engagement deepens. The impact is not a single uplift but a compounding effect of relevance. When every stage of the funnel is aligned and optimised, incremental gains accumulate into meaningful growth.
The road ahead
Growth marketing is reaching an inflection point. Attention is already the scarcest resource in marketing. Yet, continuing to run tried-and-tested playbooks within rigid silos is becoming increasingly untenable. The challenge of attribution is a problem that is not going to go away. As AI accelerates digital transformation, more interactions will generate data. New platforms will emerge. Additional touchpoints will multiply. Consumers themselves will become more digitised, engaging across an expanding ecosystem of devices and channels.
Rebuilding measurement confidence is a strategic necessity. In an era defined by complexity, clarity becomes competitive advantage. Organisations that can see the full picture across multiple devices, channels and environments will not only measure more effectively, but market more intelligently.
Author
Sue Azari is Industry Lead eCommerce, AppsFlyer
Read More
You may also like
Subscribe to our email community