Email and SMS Attribution: Measuring Klaviyo, Mailchimp and SMS Revenue

Email and SMS are often a brand's most profitable channels, and some of the most over- or under-credited. Platform dashboards count opens and clicks generously; last-click analytics can miss the email that reminded someone to buy on Amazon.

The signals email gives you

• Email platform IDs. Klaviyo adds _kx, Mailchimp adds mc_eid and mc_cid, HubSpot adds _hsenc. Trakinit recognizes them automatically and labels the visit as email.
• UTMs. utm_medium=email or utm_medium=sms with a stable campaign name.
• The subscriber's email. Already known, so any order with the same email matches exactly.

Matching email to every store

Because you know the subscriber's address, email is one of the few channels that can be matched exactly to sales that never touch your site:

• In-store purchases with a receipt or loyalty email (see in-store attribution)
• Shopify orders, which always carry an email
• App purchases where your backend knows the user's email

Emails are hashed in the browser and again on the server. See hashed email matching.

Sending email touchpoints server-side

Click-throughs arrive through the snippet, but you can also post sends or clicks from your email platform to the touchpoints API with the subscriber's email. That captures customers who read on one device and buy on another.

Be fair to email

Email often gets the last touch because it reminds existing customers to buy. Compare first-touch views to see which channels created those subscribers, and read our attribution models comparison.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Counting opens as conversions. Opens are unreliable signals since mail apps preload images. Credit clicks and matched purchases instead.
• Letting email take all the credit. A reminder email often gets the last touch for a sale another channel created. Compare models before raising email's budget share.
• Forgetting SMS links. Shortened SMS links still need UTMs, and the shortener must keep query parameters.
• Ignoring off-site sales. If subscribers buy on Amazon or in store, website-only reports undercount email's impact.

Step by step in Trakinit

1. Add utm_medium=email or utm_medium=sms and a campaign name to every link in your templates.
2. Leave Klaviyo, Mailchimp or HubSpot click tracking on, so their IDs reach the landing URL.
3. Add the tracking snippet and call identify on sign-up forms.
4. Bring in orders from every store, including POS sales with receipt emails.
5. Open the Channels page and compare email under last-touch and linear models.

Frequently asked questions

Does email attribution work with Apple Mail Privacy Protection?

Yes, because it relies on clicks and purchases, not opens. Privacy Protection affects open tracking; it doesn't hide the click to your site or the email on the order.

Can I attribute SMS separately from email?

Yes. Use utm_medium=sms on SMS links and utm_medium=email on email links. They appear as separate channels in every report.

How are subscribers matched to in-store purchases?

When a store sale includes the receipt or loyalty email, its hash is compared with the subscriber's hashed email. A matching hash is an exact match. Read in-store attribution.

Start a free trial and see email's revenue across every store.