HubSpot. First touch vs last touch. Compare acquisition models in reports.

What this means for your store

HubSpot keeps first touch and last touch source properties on contacts, alongside UTMs captured at creation. First touch credits the channel that found the lead; last touch credits the final interaction before conversion. They will not match GA4's data-driven model, but they answer blunt questions: “Did Meta introduce this wholesale account?” vs “Did branded search or a rep email close it?”

Scenario on a real storefront

Same wholesale apparel buyer, three weeks apart: Meta ad on March 2, branded Google click on March 10, rep follow-up email on March 18 before the PO lands. First vs last touch tell different budget stories:

# Contact acquisition properties
first_touch_source  = Paid Social       # Meta, March 2
last_touch_source   = Email Marketing   # rep sequence, March 18
utm_campaign (first) = spring_lookbook_meta
utm_campaign (last)  = rep_followup_q1

# Reports → Attribution
Model A: First touch → credit Meta prospecting
Model B: Last touch  → credit Email / Sales

# Enterprise - W-shaped model
# Splits credit across first touch, lead creation, close

# GA4 comparison (expect mismatch)
# Admin → Attribution → Reporting attribution model
# Export separately - do not force numbers to match 1:1

What to do next

• Show both models in leadership reviews - first touch defends awareness spend; last touch explains the quarter you are in.
• For six-month B2B cycles, add linear or custom multi-touch; binary first/last under-credits nurture blog posts and cart-recovery email.
• Lock the model used for bonuses in writing; switching mid-year breaks trust with channel owners and agencies.

Bottom line

First and last touch answer different budget questions - report both, pick one for incentives, and do not expect parity with GA4 attribution settings.