Sales Channel (sm_channel)

The sm_channel field groups orders for reporting based on:

Sales channel — Online DTC, Amazon, Retail, TikTok Shop
Integration path — direct integration (Amazon) vs flowing through Shopify (Amazon via Shopify)
Acquisition source — Partners / Affiliates (e.g., GRIN)
Special order types — Exchanges, Draft Orders, Excluded

This is one of the most important dimensions for segmenting your business performance.

Standard Channel Values

Channel	Description
`online_dtc`	Direct-to-consumer orders from your online store
`amazon`	Orders from Amazon Seller Central (direct integration)
`amazon_via_shopify`	Amazon orders flowing through Shopify
`amazon_multi_channel_fulfillment`	Amazon MCF fulfillment orders (when present)
`retail`	Point-of-sale and physical retail orders
`wholesale`	B2B and bulk orders
`partners_/_affiliates`	GRIN and affiliate platform orders
`exchanged`	Exchange and replacement orders
`draft_orders`	Manually created draft orders
`excluded`	Orders tagged with `sm-exclude-order`

Channel Determination Hierarchy

SourceMedium evaluates each order through this priority sequence:

Priority 1: Exclusion Tag

Orders with the sm-exclude-order tag are always assigned to the Excluded channel, regardless of any other signals.

-- This tag takes absolute precedence
SELECT
  sm_order_key,
  sm_channel,
  order_tags_csv
FROM `your_project.sm_transformed_v2.obt_orders`
WHERE is_order_sm_valid = TRUE
  AND REGEXP_CONTAINS(LOWER(order_tags_csv), r'(^|,\\s*)sm-exclude-order(\\s*,|$)')
LIMIT 50;

Excluded orders won’t appear in Executive Summary metrics or LTV calculations. Use this tag for test orders, internal orders, or any orders that shouldn’t count in analytics.

Priority 2: Source System Override

Orders from direct platform integrations (not flowing through Shopify) are assigned based on their source:

Source System	Assigned Channel
`tiktok_shop`	TikTok Shop
`amazon`	Amazon

Priority 3: Shopify Marketplace Detection

For Shopify orders, marketplace signals derived from the order source trigger specific channel mappings:

Condition	Assigned Channel
Order source contains `amazon`	Amazon via Shopify
Sales channel is `TikTok Shop`	TikTok Shop via Shopify

Priority 4: Config Sheet Rules

Your custom channel mapping rules are evaluated next. These rules can match on:

Attribute	Description	Example
`source`	UTM source	`utm_source=influencer`
`medium`	UTM medium	`utm_medium=affiliate`
`source_medium`	Combined source/medium	`facebook / cpc`
`campaign`	UTM campaign	`utm_campaign=wholesale_q1`
`discount_codes`	Applied discount codes	`WHOLESALE50`
`order_tags`	Shopify order tags	`wholesale`, `b2b`
`skus`	Product SKUs in the order	`BULK-*`
`shopify_sales_channel`	Shopify app/source	`Shop App`

Create Custom Channel Mappings

Step-by-step guide to setting up your own channel mapping rules

Priority 5: Default Logic

If no config sheet rules match, these defaults apply based on order attributes:

Condition	Assigned Channel
GRIN app orders	Partners / Affiliates
Tags contain `wholesale`, `faire`, `wholesaler`	Wholesale
Tags contain `exchange`, `returnly_exchange`, `ex-###`	Exchanged
POS or Leap app orders	Retail
Draft order source	Draft Orders
Tags contain `mirakl`	Mirakl
Everything else	Online DTC

Sub-Channel (sm_sub_channel)

The sm_sub_channel field provides additional granularity within a channel. The value is determined by:

For Amazon orders: Derived from fulfillment channel:
- Fulfilled by Amazon — FBA orders
- Fulfilled by Merchant — Merchant-fulfilled orders
For all other orders: Uses your config sheet sub_channel if set, otherwise falls back to the channel name, or Unknown as a last resort

Sub-channels are most commonly used to segment Online DTC orders by marketing source (e.g., separating influencer orders from general paid social).

Debugging Channel Assignment

To understand why an order landed in a specific channel, start by pulling the mapping outputs and the most common inputs that influence mapping (sales channel + UTMs).

SELECT
  sm_order_key,
  sm_channel,
  sm_sub_channel,
  sm_default_channel,
  sm_order_sales_channel,
  source_system_sales_channel,
  sm_utm_source_medium,
  sm_utm_campaign
FROM `your_project.sm_transformed_v2.obt_orders`
WHERE is_order_sm_valid = TRUE
  AND order_processed_at_local_datetime >= DATETIME_SUB(CURRENT_DATETIME(), INTERVAL 30 DAY)
ORDER BY order_processed_at_local_datetime DESC
LIMIT 200;

If the inputs don’t line up with your expectations, that typically points to missing UTMs or an override rule that needs to be added/updated.

Best Practices

Use Tags for Non-UTM Segmentation

For orders that don’t have reliable UTM data (wholesale, B2B, exchanges), use Shopify order tags and set up config sheet rules to match them.

Set Up Shopify Flow Automation

Automate consistent tagging with Shopify Flow:

IF order.customer.tags CONTAINS "wholesale"
OR order.discount_code CONTAINS "WHOLESALE-"
THEN add_tag "wholesale"

Review Channel Distribution Regularly

Check the Orders Deep Dive module to ensure orders are being assigned to the expected channels. If you see unexpected Online DTC orders, they may need config sheet rules.

Channel Mapping Guide

Detailed explanation of the channel mapping system

Orders Deep Dive

Analyze orders by channel in your dashboard

Core Concepts

Attribution

Order Segmentation

Customer Record

Sales Channel (sm_channel)

Standard Channel Values

Channel Determination Hierarchy

Priority 1: Exclusion Tag

Priority 2: Source System Override

Priority 3: Shopify Marketplace Detection

Priority 4: Config Sheet Rules

Create Custom Channel Mappings

Priority 5: Default Logic

Sub-Channel (sm_sub_channel)

Debugging Channel Assignment

Best Practices

Use Tags for Non-UTM Segmentation

Set Up Shopify Flow Automation

Review Channel Distribution Regularly

Channel Mapping Guide

Orders Deep Dive

​Standard Channel Values

​Channel Determination Hierarchy

​Priority 1: Exclusion Tag

​Priority 2: Source System Override

​Priority 3: Shopify Marketplace Detection

​Priority 4: Config Sheet Rules

Create Custom Channel Mappings

​Priority 5: Default Logic

​Sub-Channel (sm_sub_channel)

​Debugging Channel Assignment

​Best Practices

​Use Tags for Non-UTM Segmentation

​Set Up Shopify Flow Automation

​Review Channel Distribution Regularly

​Related Resources

Channel Mapping Guide

Orders Deep Dive

Standard Channel Values

Channel Determination Hierarchy

Priority 1: Exclusion Tag

Priority 2: Source System Override

Priority 3: Shopify Marketplace Detection

Priority 4: Config Sheet Rules

Priority 5: Default Logic

Sub-Channel (sm_sub_channel)

Debugging Channel Assignment

Best Practices

Use Tags for Non-UTM Segmentation

Set Up Shopify Flow Automation

Review Channel Distribution Regularly

Related Resources