---
id: "question-attribution-modeling"
type: "open-question"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Store as Demand Generation and Brand-Building Engine", "¶1"]
source_title: "The Comeback of the Physical Store—and What It Means for Your Business"
source_url: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/the-comeback-of-the-physical-store-and-what-it-means-for-your-business"
tags: ["marketing-attribution", "data-analytics"]
related: ["concept-store-as-demand-engine", "concept-omnichannel-metrics"]
resolutionPath: "Develop advanced multi-touch attribution models that track physical footfall and connect it to subsequent digital purchases."
sources: ["tail1"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-tail1"
originDay: 1
articleStem: "hbr-tail-114-comeback-physical-store"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/04/the-comeback-of-the-physical-store-and-what-it-means-for-your-business"
sourceTitle: "The Comeback of the Physical Store—and What It Means for Your Business"
---
# How should retailers attribute online sales to physical store visits?

**Open question:** How should retailers accurately attribute online sales to physical store visits?

**Why it matters:** The entire case for the store as a [[concept-store-as-demand-engine|demand engine]] — the halo effect, lower blended CAC — depends on crediting online sales that a store *caused*. Without this, [[concept-omnichannel-metrics|omnichannel metrics]] can't be computed credibly.

**Resolution path:** Develop advanced multi-touch attribution models that track a customer's physical footfall (via opt-in location data, loyalty apps, or localized sales lifts) and connect it to subsequent digital purchases.

> **Enrichment note:** Proving incrementality realistically requires geo-experiments or matched-market designs, not last-click attribution — and halo-effect lifts can reflect pre-existing demand or market selection rather than a true store effect.