Sequential vs. Non-sequential Funnel Analysis

The conversion rates that appear in your funnel analysis will be calculated differently depending on how you set the "Step Ordering" parameter, as illustrated below:

Two types of conversions will be affected by this parameter: 1) step-to-step conversion, and 2) full-funnel conversion.

To illustrate how step order impacts conversion (based on whether you choose sequential” vs. “non-sequential” funnel analysis), let’s use the example of a 4-step funnel that’s defined as having this order: A → B → C → D

Sequential funnel analysis

When you choose to analyze a funnel on a “sequential” basis, the order of the steps is important. This means that:

A step-to-step conversion (e.g. B → C) only occurs if Step C was performed at some point after Step B.
A full-funnel conversion only occurs if all 4 steps were performed in their defined order (regardless of whether additional steps took place in between).

For example…

Order of step performance	How conversion is determined…
A → B → B → C → A → D	It is considered a full-funnel conversion because all 4 steps were performed in their defined order. Step-to-step conversion happened for each pair of steps (e.g. C → D), since each step was performed at some point after the previously defined step.
A → C → B	It is not considered a full-funnel conversion because not all 4 steps were performed. Step-to-step conversion happened for A → B because Step B was performed at some point after Step A. However, there was not a conversion for B → C because Step C was not performed after Step B.
C → A → B → D	It is not considered a full-funnel conversion because, although all 4 steps were performed, they were not performed in their defined order. Step-to-step conversion happened for A → B because Step B was performed after Step A. However: There was not a conversion for B → C because Step C was not performed after Step B. There was not a conversion for C → D because ordering begins once Step A is performed. In this case, Step A was only performed after Step C, so Step D is not considered to have been performed after Step C.
C → B → D	Without performing the first step (Step A), a user would not be included in the pool of users who are eligible to complete full-funnel conversion or step-to-step conversion.

Note that Loops provides a 2-second grace period for steps that are performed out of order.

Non-sequential funnel analysis

When you choose to analyze a funnel on a “Non-sequential” basis, the order of the steps is not important. The only thing that matters is whether particular steps were performed.

For example…

Order of step-completion	Will it be counted as a conversion?
A → C → B → D	It is considered a full-funnel conversion because all 4 steps were performed, regardless of their defined order.
A → B → D	It is not considered a full-funnel conversion because not all 4 steps were performed.
C → B → D	Without performing the first step (Step A), a user would not be included in the pool of users who are eligible to complete full-funnel conversion or step-to-step conversion.

Grace period for event timestamps

Because there’s a possibility of technical issues related to event timestamps in your product, this may affect the order in which steps are performed. In sequential funnel analyses where step order is important, this will impact whether full-funnel and step-to-step conversions occur. To deal with this, Loops provides a grace period of 2 seconds for event timestamps..

What does this mean? Let’s say a funnel has a defined step order of A → B → C → D and you are conducting a sequential funnel analysis. If a user performs Step B before Step A, but Step B happened less than 2 seconds prior to Step A, the steps will still be considered as occurring in the correct order. As a result of the grace period, it will still be counted as a conversion.