Pinterest Made Me Want It. Google Lens Helped Me Find It. Who Gets the Credit?

By Joanna Stone, Founder of Bunny Ruffle Tail

Key finding: 72% of marketers agree last-click attribution ignores the upper funnel. That measurement limitation can obscure earlier research and brand interactions, including those of older shoppers. Sources 12, 13 and 14

Here's how I often shop: I see something interesting on Pinterest. I want to know exactly what it is. So I open Google Lens and look for places that sell it.

I'm not necessarily hunting for the lowest price. I'm trying to find the item.

If I like what I find and the price makes sense, I may buy it immediately. I don't spend weeks deliberating over every purchase. In fact, it's relatively rare that an advertisement presents me with something I truly want. More often, I go looking for it myself.

Now imagine you're the marketer reviewing that sale. The last measurable click might have come from search or a retailer. But Pinterest was where I discovered the product. Which part of the journey deserves credit?

The last click is easy to see. The spark is harder.

My shopping habit is exactly why that 72% matters. A visual discovery can create the desire, while an image-search tool helps me identify where to buy. The transaction may be attributed to the final destination, even though it didn't introduce me to the product.

And that isn't a story about older women being slow to decide. I'm perfectly capable of buying quickly. The important question is how the idea got into my head in the first place.

A sale has a history, even when the dashboard doesn't show it.

Editorial content, creator videos, Pinterest images and product demonstrations can each play a role in discovery. Sometimes the shopper remembers the source. Sometimes the technology connecting discovery to checkout leaves no clean attribution trail.

The briefing also cites research on older consumers' research and comparison behavior. Source 13 Source 14 That makes it especially important not to equate a recorded final click with the entire decision.

An Adobe study in the briefing found 37% of Gen X and older shoppers reported buyer's remorse, versus 57% of millennials. Source 15 The quality of the purchase decision matters alongside the conversion.

The question I'd ask a brand

Don't just tell me where the customer clicked last. Tell me where she first became interested. Ask how she discovered the item. Look at assisted paths and post-purchase feedback alongside final-click results.

If your marketing creates the desire but another channel closes the sale, you may be cutting the very thing that made the sale possible.

Further reading: Women 50+ Advertiser Briefing · Sources and Methodology

Published October 31, 2026 · Last updated October 31, 2026