BFCM Results in Klaviyo: The Attribution Windows You Need to Know

On the Monday after Cyber Monday, the Klaviyo dashboard shows revenue attributed to campaigns and flows. That figure depends on rules most teams have never opened: a time window per channel, an attribution model, a link to the send day, and reports that do not all apply the same rules. Knowing them before BFCM saves you from drawing conclusions from a misread number.

TL;DR. By default, for new accounts, Klaviyo attributes an order to the last message clicked or opened within a 5-day window for email. Results are tied to the send day, not the purchase day, and a settings change recalculates the whole history, with a delay of up to 36 hours. Not every report applies these windows. The total revenue of the operation is read in the store, not as the sum of the platforms.

Want an outside look before the operation? We offer a Q4 readiness audit: 30 minutes, free, no strings attached.

The default settings

By default, Klaviyo uses a last touch attribution model, with the following windows for all new accounts (Klaviyo, understanding message attribution).

• 5 days for email clicks
• 5 days for email opens
• 5 days for text message clicks
• 1 day for text message opens
• 12 hours for text message deliveries
• 24 hours for push opens
• 5 days for WhatsApp clicks, 12 hours for WhatsApp opens
• 1 day for Active on Site (Advanced KDP and Marketing Analytics customers only)

The page describes cooperative attribution across channels: each Klaviyo channel has its own configurable window, and a customer event such as an order is only attributed to messages with a window that is still open. The attribution window for an event starts when the profile receives the message.

One example from the page, with the default 5 days: you email on day 1 and the recipient opens it, they open it again on day 2 and click, and they buy on day 4. The order is attributed to the email. Had the purchase happened on day 12, it would not be.

For a BFCM, in our view this shapes how you read results: a customer who receives the Friday opening and buys within 5 days stays inside the default window, while a customer who comes back two weeks later does not. And because the last touch wins, a reminder clicked on Sunday takes the credit from the Friday opening. The phases of our BFCM send calendar therefore redistribute credit among themselves.

Several channels: the last touch inside an open window

When you send an email and a text message, Klaviyo attributes the order to the last message the customer interacted with, provided that channel's window is still open. The conversion tracking page gives the example of a customer who opens an email on day 1 and a push notification on day 2. A purchase on day 3 is attributed to the push, because the 24-hour window is open. A purchase on day 4 is attributed to the email, because the push window is closed and the email window is still open (Klaviyo, understanding message conversion tracking).

For a brand that combines email and SMS during BFCM, the split between channels therefore depends on the windows you choose as much as on the messages.

Tied to the send day

For email as for SMS, Klaviyo looks at message attribution by send day: the day you send the message is the day on which attributed rates and conversions are counted. The page gives the example of an email sent to all recipients on a Friday and opened on Friday and Saturday: all those opens are attributed to Friday (Klaviyo, understanding message conversion tracking).

The page draws a reading consequence. If you look at analytics for a single day, Klaviyo will not attribute conversions from a message that took place on a different day. Querying one day at a time gives campaigns less time to generate revenue, and the page recommends choosing a broader timeframe that covers the conversion window.

The attribution page adds a point on timezones: message attribution follows the moment of first send, in the account's timezone. With sends at each recipient's local time, attributed events may therefore not coincide with the local date on which a recipient actually opened, which Klaviyo acknowledges in its example. In our view, for an audience in a single timezone, this detail changes little.

The delays: three hours, five days, thirty-six hours

The attribution page specifies three delays (Klaviyo, understanding message attribution).

• The model attributes a conversion event within 3 hours of receiving it.
• It also updates attribution for up to 5 days, to include interactions that arrive late.
• A change to attribution settings can take up to 36 hours to show in the account, and Klaviyo then recalculates historical data so that past and future stay consistent.

For the post-BFCM reading, these delays have, in our view, a simple consequence: a figure pulled on Monday evening is not the final figure. Pull it on a fixed date, note the date, and compare readings taken at the same point after sending.

Which reports apply the windows

Klaviyo distinguishes two families of reports (Klaviyo, understanding message attribution).

In the right-hand column, opens and clicks are grouped on the date the event happened, not on the date the message was sent. Two reports can therefore show different totals for the same day without either being wrong. Before comparing two figures, check that they come from the same family.

Changing the windows, and what it triggers

The setting is in the account menu, under Settings, then Attribution (Klaviyo, how to change your attribution model). You tick the interactions to track: if a box is not ticked, that interaction does not count toward attribution. Durations are set in days or hours, with a maximum of 90 days or 720 hours. For a channel that offers several options, the page advises against choosing ones that could skew the data: a longer open window rather than a click window introduces a bias toward opens, which may not be conclusive indicators of a conversion.

Three other settings bear directly on reading a BFCM.

• Bot clicks. Email and text message clicks made by security software or certain providers are excluded from attribution and reporting by default for new accounts.
• Apple Mail Privacy Protection opens. They can be removed from attribution. The page specifies that this does not remove them from reporting. Our article on Apple Mail Privacy Protection explains the mechanism.
• Open tracking. Attribution based on opens only reflects the opens Klaviyo records. If open tracking is turned off, or the matching consent is refused for some recipients, those opens are not available for attribution.

The model comparison tool lets you preview the effect of a change before applying it. It covers 7 days by default, with a maximum of 31 days for a custom period, and the page warns that its preview may differ from actual reporting. The Apply settings button applies the settings to history as well as to future conversions.

A point of method, which is ours and not the documentation's: do not change the windows during the operation, and do not adjust them afterward to improve a figure. A change rewrites history, and your year-over-year comparisons rely on stable rules.

Last touch or linear

The last touch model gives all the credit to the final touchpoint before the conversion. The linear model splits credit equally across all touchpoints. The page gives the example of a $100 order after two emails and a text message: under last touch, the text message gets $100, under linear, each gets about $33. For a message to count in the linear model, it must have been received within the channel's window, and the interaction must have happened within the same window (Klaviyo, understanding attribution model types).

The choice of the linear model is limited to Advanced KDP and Marketing Analytics customers, which are paid plans separate from the standard marketing application. The path is Account, Settings, Attribution, then the Attribution model card, and the change takes up to 36 hours. Our article on multi-touch email attribution places these models in a broader reading.

Klaviyo and Google Analytics do not count the same way

Klaviyo calculates its conversions from your database's data, through the native integration or the API, without a pixel. Google Analytics relies on link clicks. The page concludes that the figures from the two tools do not match exactly, and recommends deferring to Klaviyo's conversion analytics when possible (Klaviyo, understanding message conversion tracking). It cites the case of a subscriber who reads the email, clicks nothing and then goes to the store: Klaviyo recognizes the conversion inside the open window, Google Analytics does not.

The UTM parameters added by default help reconcile the two readings. For a campaign, the source is the name of the lists or segments, the medium is Email and the campaign is the campaign name with its identifier. For a flow, the source is the flow name and the campaign is the message name with its identifier. They can be customized at account level and at email level.

One last reading rule belongs to our method. The overall revenue of the operation is read in the store, which is the source of truth. The figure attributed by Klaviyo, the one from Meta and the one from Google are each compared against their own rules, and they are not added together.

Post-BFCM reading checklist

1. Note the windows and the attribution model in force before the operation, and do not change them during it.
2. Choose a reading period that covers the conversion window, not an isolated day.
3. Pull results on a fixed date after each send, allowing for the 5-day update delay.
4. Check that the two figures being compared come from the same family of reports.
5. Confirm the setting for bot clicks and Apple Mail Privacy Protection opens.
6. Reconcile the attributed figure with the store's revenue, without adding the platforms together.
7. Use the UTM parameters to re-read the same campaigns in Google Analytics, keeping in mind that the two tools do not count the same way.

FAQ

What is the default attribution window for email?

5 days for clicks and 5 days for opens, with a last touch attribution model, for new accounts.

Why does my one-day figure differ from the campaign report?

Campaign and flow reports use message attribution, tied to the send day, while other reports group by event date. The page also recommends reading a period wide enough to cover the conversion window.

If I change the window today, do my past campaigns change?

Yes. Klaviyo recalculates history so that past and future stay consistent, and the change can take up to 36 hours to show.

Is the linear model available on every account?

No, it is limited to Advanced KDP and Marketing Analytics customers. The default model is last touch.

Should Klaviyo and Google Analytics show the same figure?

No. Klaviyo calculates conversions from your database's data, Google Analytics from link clicks, and the page recommends relying on Klaviyo's conversion analytics when possible.

Want an outside look at how you read your results? We run Q4 readiness audits, or you can talk to the Deliver team directly.