Ecommerce Playbook: Numbers, Struggles & Growth Is AppLovin Actually Incremental? 8 Tests, Real Data, Real Results
Jan 15, 2026
Tony Chop, an experienced ecommerce/media strategist, and Connor McLaughlin, a paid media manager at Common Thread Collective, dive into the intriguing world of AppLovin. They discuss eight real incrementality tests, revealing AppLovin's conservative measurement and how it consistently shows positive impact. The duo shares tactical insights on campaign structure, optimal bidding strategies, and what creative formats work best for mobile games. They also predict AppLovin's rise as a significant player in paid media by 2026, backed by real data and learnings from Black Friday performance.
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Platform Measurement Is Conservatively Built
- AppLovin's internal attribution is intentionally conservative, using only click attribution with a zero- or one-day window.
- Every incrementality test so far showed measured revenue higher than the platform's reported impact, indicating real incremental lift.
Tight Incrementality Bands Build Confidence
- AppLovin's incrementality reads cluster tightly (roughly 120–150% average) which increases confidence versus platforms with wide variance like YouTube.
- Consistent, repeatable test results make it safer to scale budget into the channel.
Prioritize Full Event Wiring For Non-Shopify Sites
- Prioritize Shopify installs for speed; non-Shopify sites need more developer work to fire many pixel events.
- Ensure full event wiring so AppLovin's pixel can use deeper signals for better audience targeting.