Business technology consulting firm WorkMagic’s analysis of more than 100 lift tests conducted in the past six months, including 16 specific to TikTok, demonstrates that traditional click-based attribution methods substantially undervalue TikTok’s true business impact.
The research shows 94% of TikTok lift tests reveal performance is underreported by traditional attribution methods. This measurement gap means TikTok’s true incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) is up to 2.35x higher than what last-click attribution suggests.
“This tracks with today’s complex customer journeys: awareness and discovery tend to happen on platforms like TikTok, while the last click before purchase tends to be from a Search result or ad as the customer tries to navigate to purchase,” notes the report.
This disparity creates a significant blind spot for marketing teams relying solely on last-click data for budget decisions, potentially leading to underinvestment in channels that drive upper-funnel activity.
Halo Effect Detected Across Sales Channels
The research identifies a significant “halo effect” where TikTok’s influence extends beyond direct, attributable purchases. Across the examined brands, TikTok ads drove an average 33.6% halo effect on Amazon, meaning one-third of TikTok-influenced sales occurred on the marketplace rather than through direct site conversions.
In a case study highlighted in the report, skincare brand DRMTLGY discovered that 19% of TikTok-driven sales occurred on Amazon, revenue that traditional attribution models had missed entirely.
This cross-channel impact represents a measurement challenge for omnichannel brands, but also an opportunity to more accurately assess channel performance. The research suggests incrementality testing provides the most accurate way to capture this full-funnel impact.
WorkMagic’s analysis using incrementality-calibrated Media Mix Models (iMMM) identified two common scenarios among TikTok advertisers:
Brands with headroom to improve Incremental Return on Advertising Spend (iROAS) by increasing budgets, with potential improvements of up to 8.8% before hitting diminishing returns.
Brands that had saturated the channel and could optimize iROAS by slightly reducing spend, with more modest improvements of up to 6.5%.
In a case study featuring the menswear brand True Classic, incrementality testing revealed that TikTok had driven 5.51 times more orders than last-click reporting indicated and delivered 74% higher iROAS than previously measured. The brand’s incrementality-calibrated diminishing return curve identified a potential 64% boost to revenue through adjusted spending.
Advertiser Strategies
The study reveals how brands allocate TikTok ad budgets across campaign types. GMV Max, TikTok’s automated campaign type designed to maximize gross merchandise value, now accounts for 38% of TikTok ad budgets across WorkMagic clients, indicating the rapid adoption of the platform’s newer offerings.
Meanwhile, Product Sales ads hold steady at 15% of ad budgets, with brands maintaining a mix of conversion-focused and brand-building tactics.
A case study featuring hydration brand Liquid I.V. demonstrated the value of testing multiple ad formats. The company found that adding TikTok Shop Ads to its existing TikTok Web Ads mix delivered 3.53 times better results than Web Ads alone, with a 49% lower incremental cost per acquisition and a 71% higher iROAS.
High-Value Customer Acquisition Channel
The research positions TikTok as an effective customer acquisition tool, with 58% of TikTok-driven orders coming from new customers. These new customers demonstrate higher value, with average order values 46% higher than typical TikTok orders.
This customer acquisition strength has significant implications for customer lifetime value calculations and suggests that even when immediate ROAS appears lower, the long-term value of TikTok-acquired customers may justify higher acquisition costs.
Recommendations for Marketers
Based on the findings, WorkMagic recommends marketers adopt several strategic approaches:
Implement triangulation in measurement by using incrementality testing to calibrate attribution and media mix models.
Measure halo effects to capture full-funnel impact, especially for omnichannel brands.
Test new TikTok campaign types as they become available.
Explore ad tactic combinations to optimize customer acquisition outcomes.
Take a proactive approach to budget planning using incrementality-based forecasting.
The research emphasizes that measuring TikTok’s true impact requires looking beyond last-click models to understand the platform’s role throughout the customer journey. For brands selling across multiple channels or advertising across multiple platforms, incrementality testing provides the most accurate view of performance.
“Scaling and matured brands should move towards a triangulation approach to measurement: using incrementality testing to calibrate and adjust MMM and attribution models,” states the report.
The study indicates that attribution blind spots aren’t unique to TikTok, though the platform shows the most significant gap at 94% underreporting. Other platforms also display notable discrepancies, including Meta at 94% underreporting, Google Ads at 41% underreporting (with 59% overreporting), Amazon at 67% underreporting, Snapchat at 60% underreporting, and Pinterest at 75% underreporting.
WorkMagic reports that clients implementing these measurement approaches have seen 10%-30% improvement in marketing efficiency ratio over the past six months by identifying actual growth drivers and reallocating budgets accordingly.
Cecilia Carloni, Interview Manager at Influence Weekly and writer for NetInfluencer. Coming from beautiful Argentina, Ceci has spent years chatting with big names in the influencer world, making friends and learning insider info along the way. When she’s not deep in interviews or writing, she's enjoying life with her two daughters. Ceci’s stories give a peek behind the curtain of influencer life, sharing the real and interesting tales from her many conversations with movers and shakers in the space.
Business technology consulting firm WorkMagic’s analysis of more than 100 lift tests conducted in the past six months, including 16 specific to TikTok, demonstrates that traditional click-based attribution methods substantially undervalue TikTok’s true business impact.
The research shows 94% of TikTok lift tests reveal performance is underreported by traditional attribution methods. This measurement gap means TikTok’s true incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) is up to 2.35x higher than what last-click attribution suggests.
“This tracks with today’s complex customer journeys: awareness and discovery tend to happen on platforms like TikTok, while the last click before purchase tends to be from a Search result or ad as the customer tries to navigate to purchase,” notes the report.
This disparity creates a significant blind spot for marketing teams relying solely on last-click data for budget decisions, potentially leading to underinvestment in channels that drive upper-funnel activity.
Halo Effect Detected Across Sales Channels
The research identifies a significant “halo effect” where TikTok’s influence extends beyond direct, attributable purchases. Across the examined brands, TikTok ads drove an average 33.6% halo effect on Amazon, meaning one-third of TikTok-influenced sales occurred on the marketplace rather than through direct site conversions.
In a case study highlighted in the report, skincare brand DRMTLGY discovered that 19% of TikTok-driven sales occurred on Amazon, revenue that traditional attribution models had missed entirely.
This cross-channel impact represents a measurement challenge for omnichannel brands, but also an opportunity to more accurately assess channel performance. The research suggests incrementality testing provides the most accurate way to capture this full-funnel impact.
Budget Optimization Reveals Significant Upside Potential
WorkMagic’s analysis using incrementality-calibrated Media Mix Models (iMMM) identified two common scenarios among TikTok advertisers:
In a case study featuring the menswear brand True Classic, incrementality testing revealed that TikTok had driven 5.51 times more orders than last-click reporting indicated and delivered 74% higher iROAS than previously measured. The brand’s incrementality-calibrated diminishing return curve identified a potential 64% boost to revenue through adjusted spending.
Advertiser Strategies
The study reveals how brands allocate TikTok ad budgets across campaign types. GMV Max, TikTok’s automated campaign type designed to maximize gross merchandise value, now accounts for 38% of TikTok ad budgets across WorkMagic clients, indicating the rapid adoption of the platform’s newer offerings.
Meanwhile, Product Sales ads hold steady at 15% of ad budgets, with brands maintaining a mix of conversion-focused and brand-building tactics.
A case study featuring hydration brand Liquid I.V. demonstrated the value of testing multiple ad formats. The company found that adding TikTok Shop Ads to its existing TikTok Web Ads mix delivered 3.53 times better results than Web Ads alone, with a 49% lower incremental cost per acquisition and a 71% higher iROAS.
High-Value Customer Acquisition Channel
The research positions TikTok as an effective customer acquisition tool, with 58% of TikTok-driven orders coming from new customers. These new customers demonstrate higher value, with average order values 46% higher than typical TikTok orders.
This customer acquisition strength has significant implications for customer lifetime value calculations and suggests that even when immediate ROAS appears lower, the long-term value of TikTok-acquired customers may justify higher acquisition costs.
Recommendations for Marketers
Based on the findings, WorkMagic recommends marketers adopt several strategic approaches:
The research emphasizes that measuring TikTok’s true impact requires looking beyond last-click models to understand the platform’s role throughout the customer journey. For brands selling across multiple channels or advertising across multiple platforms, incrementality testing provides the most accurate view of performance.
“Scaling and matured brands should move towards a triangulation approach to measurement: using incrementality testing to calibrate and adjust MMM and attribution models,” states the report.
The study indicates that attribution blind spots aren’t unique to TikTok, though the platform shows the most significant gap at 94% underreporting. Other platforms also display notable discrepancies, including Meta at 94% underreporting, Google Ads at 41% underreporting (with 59% overreporting), Amazon at 67% underreporting, Snapchat at 60% underreporting, and Pinterest at 75% underreporting.
WorkMagic reports that clients implementing these measurement approaches have seen 10%-30% improvement in marketing efficiency ratio over the past six months by identifying actual growth drivers and reallocating budgets accordingly.
Image credit: WorkMagic
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