TL;DR
Total Impact combines first-party click data with post-purchase survey answers to model credit across marketing channels. Use it to include customer-reported discovery in your channel review.
Total Impact is included in Foundation, Automate, and Enterprise, but not Free. It uses a fixed seven-day attribution window.
The model also requires sufficient data. Its current description calls for at least seven days of data and sufficient post-purchase survey volume. Seven days alone does not guarantee readiness.
Overview
The final tracked click does not always explain how a customer discovered your business. A post-purchase survey adds the discovery source the customer reports.
Total Impact brings these signals together. Its modeled results can differ from a click-based model because survey answers add information beyond tracked clicks.
Use Total Impact as context for a broader channel review. A difference in credit does not, by itself, show that one model is more accurate or that advertising caused additional sales.
Key terms
Attribution model: The rules or modeling used to assign purchase credit to marketing sources.
Post-purchase survey (PPS): A survey after purchase that can ask how the customer discovered your business.
Modeled credit: Credit estimated from available signals, rather than a record of one observed interaction.
Attribution window: The lookback period used for attribution.
Reporting date range: The dates selected for the results displayed in your report.
How it works
Clicks and survey answers provide different signals
Click data captures tracked activity. Survey answers add the discovery sources customers remember and report. Total Impact uses both to model channel credit.
For example, a shopper discovers your brand on Instagram, later clicks Google Search, and buys. In the survey, they select Instagram.
A last-click view focuses on the final tracked interaction. Total Impact also uses survey information, so the channel allocation can differ.
This example does not predict how much credit either channel receives. A survey answer alone cannot identify a specific paid campaign.
Survey data must be available to Triple Whale
Survey sources include Triple Whale’s survey, KnoCommerce, Fairing, and the PPS API. Follow the setup guidance for your survey source.
Warning for PPS API users: Send the order through the Orders API before sending the corresponding PPS response. Triple Whale uses the Order ID to match each survey response to an existing order. If the PPS response arrives before the order, Triple Whale cannot match it. This can cause Total Impact to show an insufficient-data warning even when you have sufficient survey responses.
Review survey coverage across customer groups, consistent collection, and response-to-channel mappings. Response volume alone does not describe the quality of your survey data.
The Shopify post-purchase survey guide explains native survey setup. For connected surveys, review the custom survey mapping guide.
Total Impact requires at least seven days of data and sufficient post-purchase survey volume. Seven days alone does not guarantee readiness.
This requirement is separate from the model’s fixed seven-day attribution window and the reporting dates you select.
Survey responses and modeled attribution are different
Your survey report shows customer answers. Total Impact shows modeled attribution.
A channel’s survey response count or share is not the same as its attributed purchases or revenue. Do not expect survey response percentages to match Total Impact’s allocation.
Select Total Impact
Open Acquisition.
Select Attribution.
Open the attribution model selector.
Select Total Impact.
Wait for the report to finish loading.
Check that the model selector shows Total Impact before reading the results.
The selector’s position depends on your table view:
Legacy UI: The model selector appears toward the right side of the table toolbar. The page header shows Try the new Attribution table.
New (Beta) UI: The model selector appears beside the table view controls. The page header shows Back to old view.
If Total Impact appears under Upgrade to Unlock, check your plan. A survey connection does not replace the paid-plan requirement.
Keep data history, reporting dates, and the attribution window separate
These describe different things:
Data history and volume: The data available to power Total Impact. The current model description requires at least seven days of data and sufficient PPS volume.
Reporting date range: The dates displayed in your report.
Attribution window: Total Impact’s fixed seven-day lookback window, which cannot be changed.
Changing the reporting dates does not change the attribution window. Selecting a seven-day report also does not establish that enough usable survey data is available.
Compare models with the same report settings
Keep the reporting dates, filters, business scope, and metric the same. Check each model’s attribution window when comparing results.
If the attribution windows differ, the comparison reflects both the model and window differences.
A higher attributed revenue or ROAS does not prove that a channel generated more sales. The allocation can change because the model changed.
Note: Total Impact does not retain an order-by-order record of how modeled credit was assigned. A survey response cannot explain one purchase’s exact allocation.
When to use Total Impact and its trade-offs
Include customer-reported discovery in your channel review
Use Total Impact when you want to consider survey-reported discovery alongside tracked clicks.
This adds context that may not appear in the final tracked interaction. Keep survey coverage and customer recall in mind when interpreting the results.
Investigate differences between attribution models
Compare Total Impact with click-based reporting to see how modeled credit differs.
Different credit does not establish which model is more accurate. Check the report settings and attribution windows before drawing conclusions.
Separate broader channel review from same-day checks
Do not use Total Impact alone to judge a newly launched ad’s same-day performance.
For immediate checks, compare a click-based attribution view alongside campaign delivery and business results. Keep the selected model, window, and reporting dates clear.
Use model differences as context for spending decisions
Total Impact adds another view to a wider channel review.
A model difference alone does not prove incremental sales or justify a budget change.
If Total Impact shows a survey-data warning
A paid plan and a connected survey do not, by themselves, establish data readiness. Follow the message displayed in your account.
For a native post-purchase survey:
Confirm that the survey is published.
Check that the survey is visible after purchase.
Confirm that customers can reach the attribution question.
Check that the submit button is visible and usable.
If other content appears above the survey, check whether customers can still reach and complete it.
For a connected survey provider, review the connection and response mappings using that provider’s setup guide.
Do not assume that a particular response rate guarantees readiness. Survey volume, coverage, and usable responses all matter.
If the warning continues or results remain unexplained, contact Support. Include the reporting dates, model, attribution window, filters, survey source, and a screenshot with sensitive details removed.