Dutch Ecommerce Attribution Benchmarks: The Local Lie
Dutch ecommerce brands often compare themselves to local benchmarks for CAC and ROAS. However, these benchmarks are just as flawed as global ones, as they are based on outdated, correlation-based attribution models that don't account for the unique dynamics of the Dutch market.
By Joris van Huët, Founder & CEOUpdated 3 min read
To succeed, you need to be smarter and more efficient with your marketing spend than your competitors. This is where marketing attribution comes in, but are you measuring what truly matters?
The Problem with Dutch Benchmarks
It's natural for Dutch brands to look for local benchmarks to gauge their performance. You might see reports on the average CAC or ROAS for ecommerce in the Netherlands. The problem is, these benchmarks, just like their global counterparts, are based on flawed, correlation-based attribution models. They don't account for the unique characteristics of the Dutch market, such as the high mobile penetration, the popularity of iDEAL, and the importance of local, trusted brands.
Deconstructing the Local Metrics
Let's look at why common benchmarks are so problematic in the Dutch context:
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): A high ROAS on a Google Ads campaign might look impressive, but in a small, well-connected market like the Netherlands, it's highly likely that many of those customers were already familiar with your brand. The true, incremental ROAS is almost certainly lower.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): A low CAC might seem like a win, but are you acquiring loyal, Dutch customers who will stick with your brand for the long term, or are you just attracting bargain hunters from across the border? The focus should be on acquiring high-value customers within your target market.
Conversion Rate: A high conversion rate is great, but it's important to understand the context. Are you converting new customers, or are you just converting existing customers who are taking advantage of a sale? In the Netherlands, where consumers are savvy and price-conscious, this is a critical distinction.
The Only Benchmark That Matters: Incremental Lift in the Dutch Market
Instead of chasing misleading local benchmarks, you should be focused on the only benchmark that truly matters: incremental lift. Incremental lift is the measure of the sales that you are generating in the Netherlands that you would not have generated without your marketing. It is the true measure of your marketing's effectiveness in your home market.
Incremental Dutch Sales = (Total Dutch Sales with Marketing) - (Baseline Dutch Sales without Marketing)
To measure incremental lift, you need a causal understanding of your marketing, which is something that traditional attribution models simply cannot provide.
| Feature | Traditional Benchmarking | Causality Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Methodology | Correlation-based | Causal Inference |
Related Resources
Causality Engine vs. Hyros: Which Attribution Tool Is Better for Shopify?
Go deeper: Causal attribution, explained.
Sixty-second versions of these ideas: Causality Engine on YouTube Shorts.
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Terms in this article
- AttributionAttribution identifies user actions that contribute to a desired outcome and assigns value to each. It reveals which marketing touchpoints drive conversions.
- Attribution ModelAn Attribution Model defines how credit for conversions is assigned to marketing touchpoints. It dictates how marketing channels receive credit for sales.
- Attribution SoftwareAttribution Software measures campaign impact by tracking customer interactions across touchpoints. It assigns value to each channel, showing what drives conversions.
- Causal InferenceCausal inference is the set of methods for estimating how much an outcome changes because of a cause, rather than alongside it. It works by comparing what happened with an estimate of what would have happened without the cause.
- Conversion rateConversion Rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action out of the total number of visitors.
- CorrelationCorrelation is a statistical measure showing a relationship between variables; it does not imply causation.
- Customer acquisitionCustomer acquisition attracts new customers to a business. For e-commerce, this means driving the right traffic to the website.
- Marketing AttributionMarketing attribution assigns credit to marketing touchpoints that contribute to a conversion or sale. Causal inference enhances attribution models by identifying true cause-effect relationships.