The problem with tracking, and why it is hurting Shopify stores

Tracking is one of the most significant challenges eCommerce businesses face, yet it’s rarely discussed. Companies invest vast amounts in digital marketing, but the default tracking setups in tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Shopify fail to cover even the basics of data collection.

Over time, we’ve seen tracking issues become nearly universal among Shopify stores. Previously, 8 out of 10 stores we worked with had tracking problems - now it’s 9 out of 10. It’s rare to encounter a Shopify store where tracking is fully functional without intervention. The implications of poor tracking go beyond technical issues: it’s costing businesses dearly in performance insights and missed opportunities.

Much of this comes down the simple fact of ownership. Few businesses make someone - whether internal or external - responsible for owning tracking. As a result, any tracking strategy is non-existent, let alone planning or QA. For a part of a business that decides where a considerable amount of revenue is spent, this a massive oversight.

It’s also worth saying that this is a different - although related - subject to the issues of attribution and paid search cannibalisation. We’ll be covering these in detail in future articles.

Anyway, let’s get on to…

Why tracking breaks…

Tracking problems in eCommerce stores often stem from technical limitations and growing complexity. Here are some common causes:

iOS 14 and ad blockers

The iOS 14 update made cookie-based tracking much less effective for users who opt out of tracking, leading to a 25–30% data loss in tools like Google Ads, Meta, and GA4.

Ad blockers add another layer of difficulty by blocking ads and tracking scripts, cutting off the data needed for campaign optimisation and revenue attribution.

GA4 isn’t built for eCommerce

GA4 is built on Firebase, which was originally designed for mobile apps. It struggles to handle the complexities of tracking sessions and user behaviour across multiple touchpoints in eCommerce.

Basic data collection errors

Simple tracking issues - from the basics of initial configuration to events firing out of order or failing to fire at all - are sadly more common than you might think. Again, this comes down the issue of a lack of ownership. Tracking is treated as set and forget in most cases, and these issues are usually left unfixed or just get worse.

Cookie consent issues

Strict privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA require businesses to ask for user consent before tracking them. Poorly configured cookie banners often mislabel sessions as "Direct" traffic when users opt out, making it difficult to track performance accurately.

Google’s Consent Mode v2 helps by collecting anonymised data even when users decline cookies, but it takes careful setup to get it working properly.

Checkout Extensibility

Shopify’s Checkout Extensibility, introduced in August 2023, offers new ways to track purchase events but comes with added complexity. If not set up correctly, it can lead to missing or broken tracking data. There is little awareness of this issue, and this is something Shopify should really make much clearer.

The impact of bad tracking

When tracking fails, businesses often lose confidence in tools like GA4 and rely instead on in-platform reporting from tools like Meta Ads or Google Ads. While this can fill some gaps, it has serious downsides:

• Over-reliance on ad platforms: Ad platforms often highlight metrics that make them look good, like clicks or conversions, but they don’t always focus on metrics that really matter - like new customer acquisition.
• Undervaluing organic search: Organic search often takes the biggest hit from poor tracking. Missing or misattributed data makes this channel look less effective, leading businesses to invest less in one of the most valuable marketing strategies.

However, the biggest issues is when all of this spirals into a general culture of distrusting analytics and data in general. Once this happens it’s very difficult to win this trust back.

The best approach here is to be pragmatic. It’s important for a business to agree what ‘good enough’ looks like.

Analytics is best used as a directional tool - not a 1:1 representation of what’s happening. For example, we don’t need GA4’s transaction count and revenue to match 100% with the backend database. As long as they are roughly in line it’s good enough.

How to fix tracking issues

All our projects start with a tracking audit. This includes examining the current configuration across Shopify, GA4, and Tag Manager to identify gaps and issues.

However, for many stores, this initial audit reveals deeper problems that require advanced solutions. This is when we recommend the following steps:

Accept that there’s a problem

It’s important to understand that ‘free analytics’ doesn’t exist anymore (you can make the case it it never really did, but to a different degree). Now businesses need to consider costs associated with tooling and expertise which was previously only considered at enterprise levels. The good thing is that these costs are much more affordable than ever before.

Use server-side tracking

Server-side tracking sends data directly from your server to analytics tools, bypassing browser restrictions, ad blockers, and iOS privacy issues while still respecting tracking consent signals.

1. Recover lost data: Server-side tracking restores much of the data lost due to ad blockers or cookie restrictions.
2. Stay compliant: It provides more control over data collection and ensures compliance with privacy laws.
3. Future-proof your strategy: As cookies become less reliable, server-side tracking is the way forward.
4. Enhance data quality with enrichment: Depending on the tools used, data enrichment allows for real-time modifications before it reaches GA4. This includes correcting data collection errors, standardisng event formats, adding additional context for better segmentation, and removing PII for improved compliance.

Get the technical foundations right

Advanced tracking solutions won’t work if the basics are broken. At this stage, we typically bring in tracking experts to help with:

• Fix cookie banners: These are a common point of failure - many apps are either not configured correctly or are simply broken.
• Track checkout events: Shopify’s Checkout Extensibility tools (more on this below) can accurately capture purchase data if configured correctly.
• Check event sequences: Verify that session and conversion events fire in the right order without duplication or errors.
• Overall tracking strategy: If there is a need (and there usually is), our partners can help with auditing, measurement planning, tracking/analytics ownership and building overall reporting, dashboarding, and analysis.

Use Shopify Checkout Extensibility

Shopify Checkout Extensibility is now the only option if you want to add tracking scripts to your checkout process. Many stores are still unaware of this though.

Use Elevar

Elevar simplifies Shopify tracking with pre-built solutions for GA4 and server-side tracking. It helps:

• Improve data accuracy.
• Enhance ad campaign performance with better insights.
• Avoid the technical challenges of manual tracking setups.

This article was written with the invaluable input of John Barnes of Talk Data To Me. John and his team have extensive experience in solving the issues raised in this article - we can't recommend them highly enough.