What is Attribution?
In a nutshell, “attribution” is how TxtCart figures out when a flow deserves credit for a sale.
Understanding this helps you see what's actually driving revenue and how your flows contributed to each conversion.
Attribution Types
SMS attribution is an industry standard built around three core methods:
View-Through: A sale is credited when a customer receives your message and buys within the View Window (even without clicking. It's a softer signal).
Click-Through: A sale is credited when the customer clicks a link in your text before buying. A stronger signal of intent.
Discount Usage: A sale is credited when the customer uses a discount code from your flow. Clicking on the link is not required (the coupon is proof enough of the connection).
Attribution Settings
TxtCart gives you three places to configure attribution, each more specific than the last:
Global Settings: Your store-wide default. Applies to everything unless overridden.
Flow-Level Settings: Override the global rules for one specific flow.
Node-Level Settings: Override everything for one specific message inside a flow.
Each level has the same attribution options to choose from:
Option | What it means |
All Conversions | Credits sales from views, link clicks, and discount usage |
Discount/Link Clicked | Only credits sales where a link was clicked or a discount was used |
None | Nothing is attributed, regardless of interaction. |
Note: You can only make attribution stricter as you go deeper — a flow can't be more permissive than global, and a node can't be more permissive than its flow.
Global Attribution Settings
Your store-wide default — set it once and it applies to everything.
This is your baseline. All flows and messages follow these rules unless overridden at the flow or node level.
To adjust your Global Attribution Settings in TxtCart, go to Account Settings → Messaging → Attribution Settings
You'll see three dropdowns, one for each message category:
Category | Available Options | What is for |
Promotional Flows | All Conversions, Discount/Link Clicked, None | This only affects flows that are classified as Promotional in their Trigger settings. |
Transactional Flows | All Conversions, Discount/Link Clicked, None | This only affects flows that are classified as Transactional in their Trigger settings. |
Campaigns | All Conversions, None | This only affects Campaigns |
Note: Discount/Link Clicked is not available for Campaigns
Flow-Level Attribution Settings
Tighten attribution settings for a specific flow.
Want your Abandoned Cart flow to use stricter attribution than everything else? Set it here.
Where to find it:
Open the Flow Builder for any flow you want to edit
Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top right corner
Select Set Attribution
Choose your preferred option from the dropdown
Your options:
Inherit from Global Setting (default) — Uses whatever your global settings say
All Conversions
Discount/Link Clicked
None
Node-Level Attribution Settings
The most specific level — override settings for a single message node.
Perfect for when one specific text in your flow needs different attribution tracking than everything else around it.
Where to find it:
Open a Flow
Find the Send Message or Auto Reply node you want to configure
Click the gear icon (⚙️) on that node
Choose your preferred option
Your options:
Inherit from Flow (default) — Uses whatever the flow-level setting says
All Conversions
Discount/Link Clicked
None
How the Hierarchy Works
More specific settings always take precedence. You can tighten settings as you go deeper, but you can never make them looser than the level above.
This is the hierarchy:
Global Settings (highest level)
↓
Flow-Level Settings
↓
Node-Level Settings (lowest level)
Two important rules:
If no override is set at the flow or node level, TxtCart falls back to the global setting
You cannot set a child level to be more permissive than its parent, tightening a parent automatically caps all children below it
Examples:
Your global setting is All Conversions. You set one flow to Discount/Link Clicked. Every node inside that flow can only be Discount/Link Clicked or None — not All Conversions.
If your Global Attribution is set to Discount/Link Clicked, you cannot switch a specific flow to use view-through attribution instead. Deeper levels can only be more restrictive than the level above, never more permissive.
Attribution Windows
Every attribution method has its own Attribution Window, which is the period of time TxtCart watches for a sale after a message is sent. These windows are configurable from your TxtCart Settings.
The shorter your window, the fewer orders get attributed, but the signal is stronger. A longer window captures more conversions but may credit messages that had less influence on the sale.
By default, both your View Window and Clicked/Discount Window are set to 7 days, but you can adjust this period to fit your needs and it can be as low as 1 day.
Note: Changes only apply going forward and will not affect past data or reporting.
How Does TxtCart Decide Which Flow Gets Credit for a Sale?
When a customer interacts with multiple flows, TxtCart uses a simple rule to pick a winner.
The Basic Rule:
TxtCart credits the most recent interaction that falls within the active attribution window.
How it works:
A customer receives texts from two different flows
They interact with both
They place an order
TxtCart looks at which interaction happened most recently and whether it falls within the attribution window and attributes the sale and its revenue to that flow.
Example: Someone clicks a Welcome Series text on Monday, then clicks a Win-Back text on Wednesday. He buys on Thursday. Win-Back flow gets credit, since it was the most recent interaction.
💡 Pro Tip: Start with global settings and only customize at the flow or node level when you have a specific reason. Keeping it simple makes your reporting much easier to read.
💡Tip:
Still have questions?
Please feel free to reach out to our wonderful Support team at support@txtcartapp.com or via Live Chat.