Last-click attribution

What it means

Under last-click attribution, the affiliate network credits an order to the publisher whose tracked click came last within the attribution window. Earlier partners get nothing. Last click remains impact.com's default, giving the last-click partner all of the credit.[impact.com Help Center, Oct 2026] (opens the source) It isn't compulsory: seven of the eight networks in the PMA's January 2026 comparison say they can split one sale's commission between publishers.[Performance Marketing Association, Jan 2026] (opens the source)

On your store

A shopper finds you through a creator's review, comes back a week later from your email, and at checkout clicks Activate on a cashback extension. The extension's click is last, so it gets the commission.

Why it matters

Almost 80% of respondents to the PMA's 2026 US brand survey still used last click.[Performance Marketing Association, Jul 2026] (opens the source) Only 21.5% of US marketers in an EMARKETER and Snap survey were confident it reflects a platform's long-term impact.[EMARKETER, Oct 2024] (opens the source) Any partner that can click late, at the cart, can win credit for sales that others started.

What Benson does

Attribution integrity flags orders where an extension's affiliate click landed after the shopper arrived from another referrer.

Sources

1. 1impact.com Help Center, “Last Click Credit Policy Explained”, Oct 2026. help.impact.com (opens the source)
2. 2Performance Marketing Association, “Affiliate network DSP policies comparison”, Jan 2026. thepma.org (opens the source)
3. 3Performance Marketing Association, “Announcing the 2026 Performance Marketing U.S. Brand Survey results”, Jul 2026. thepma.org (opens the source)
4. 4EMARKETER, “Just 1 in 5 marketers are confident in last-click attribution”, Oct 2024. emarketer.com (opens the source)