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Email Attributed Revenue is a scam...

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Konrad | DTC Inbox
February 09, 2026

When I was getting started in the entire email marketing and ecommerce space in 2021, everyone was obsessed about email attributed revenue.

And (partially) for a good reason - it is a solid base for knowing whether your email marketing is performing fine.

Unfortunately it has one big flaw - it can be easily manipulated and is meaningless in isolation.

I saw tens of accounts with 40-50% Klaviyo attributed revenue.

Then I’d audit them and exclude false opens and clicks and boom, it went down to 30%.

Then I’d switch from 5 days window do 1 day window - 25%.

Then exclude opens entirely and leave clicks only - 15-20%.

The performance didn’t change at all - the only thing that changed is how data is displayed.

And this is a big problem as most ecommerce brands aren’t obsessed with their Klaviyo attribution and sadly most of them don’t even know what these are.

Then they will see their Klaviyo making 40% of their revenue thinking they’re doing amazing meanwhile their revenue is flat and profit at an all time low.

You see where I’m going with this - in isolation, your attributed revenue means nothing.

Now, I do believe that it is an important KPI you should track but only if your attribution settings are correct AND you’re also watching other metrics to add more context.

Here are some you should be looking at:

  • Profit.

  • Unique opens and clicks.

  • Email AOV vs. store’s AOV.

  • LTV, 30-day LTV and 90-day LTV.

  • Time between orders and payback periods.

  • Returning customer rate and repeat customers revenue.

Of course profit is always the most important one but others give you a broader picture that helps you make the right decisions and come up with your entire email and retention strategy.

Hope that helps - reply with any questions you have and I’ll help you out.

Cheers,
Konrad

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