Multi-touch attribution provider Clarivoy recently announced the launch of an industry-wide study that will examine the current state and usage of attribution within the retail automotive industry to better understand which marketing investments most effectively lead to vehicle sales.

“While multi-touch attribution has been a big ‘buzzword’ lately, we think there is still a long way for us to go in educating dealers on its importance,” said Clarivoy chief executive officer Steve White. “The results of this study will help us gauge dealers’ baseline understanding of attribution, and their use of it, so that we as an industry can better help dealers understand and appreciate the dynamic and ever-changing customer journey that is not always accurately measured.”

Clarivoy said multi-touch attribution tracks and measures the multiple factors that influence a car buyer’s experience.

Dealers have relied on first or last-click attribution provided by Google Analytics which only measures engagements, not sales, according to Clarivoy.

The company said rather than rely on first or last click attribution, dealers can better determine how to bring in consumers by using multi-touch attribution.

“(Consumers) read reviews of vehicle models and dealerships, search prices and bounce around from site to site like never before. As a result, the average number of dealerships visited before purchasing a vehicle is dwindling,” White said.

“It is more important than ever before that dealers know how effective their marketing dollars are at bringing those prospects from the anonymous browser into their showroom," he continued. "This study will provide valuable information about the state of attribution we can share with the industry.”

Dealers who are interested in participating in the study can visit www.clarivoy.com/survey.

Participants can register to receive an advanced copy of the study results, as well as the chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card.

“Our end goal is that the results will help more dealers gain the knowledge to answer the question they have been asking themselves forever, ‘Is my investment helping me sell more vehicles?’” White added.