Store attribution is the process of linking a specific device with the store it was bought from.

This is extremely important when it comes to retail ratings as it allows you to send customers to the right e-commerce site to leave a review.

But it can also be useful for things like replenishment campaigns or resell opportunities. Instead of pushing all your users to the same retail stores, you can personalize your campaigns to send people to their preferred site – helping to increase the chances of a sale.

Let's look at three ways you can handle store attribution with Copilot.cx.

1. Register the device at the factory of distribution center

For most veteran consumer electronics companies, store attribution happens at the factory or distribution center.

The ID and SKU are registered to create a location profile. This provides valuable data to simplify the sales and returns process, and also helps with localized technical faults that require device recall.

Once this data is pulled into Copilot.cx, your user will be able to return their device to a known store – and their preferred payment method can even be stored, helping to significantly shorten the sales conversion funnel.

2. Send attribution data when the device is connected

Another option is to automatically send store attribution data to Copilot.cx.

This could happen when:

The initial flashing of the device takes place
The device is connected to the server for the first time

Each device would then be connected with the user who bought it and where they bought it from.

3. Manually input attribution data

The third and least favorable option is to input the data manually.

You could collect a list of store attribution data every week or two and run calls with Copilot.cx to align your newest users and devices.

The downside here (except for the manual part) is that there's a slight delay for your newest users. But if it's your only option, it's still worth it to have store attribution data further down the line.

No store attribution data? Ask your users

Store attribution data can be extremely important to your sales conversion funnels and review campaigns.

So if you don't have the data for all or part of your user base, simply ask for it.

You could introduce an in-app message during onboarding, either as a multiple choice or open field. Then you can use that information later to segment your users.

What to do if you have lots of small retailers

Some consumer electronics companies sell their devices in lots of smaller, physical stores.

This makes store attribution more difficult, but not impossible.

If you have different retailers for each region, try using location data to send your users to the right stores. This approach many not always be 100% accurate, but 85% is far better than zero.