Another Shopify-Analytics-Broken-After-Theme-Update Post

[Dascalargo]

I’ve seen many post regarding Shopify Analytics bottoming out after a theme update. Is there a definitive reason or solution for this?

I updated our theme on January 1 and our sessions dropped to next-to-nothing:

This is not a new theme, just an update of an existing theme. And note I’m talking about SHOPIFY Analytics, not GA4. And to be perfectly clear: The issue is NOT that visits have dropped. It’s not optimization. The issue is that the reporting from Shopify Analytics is wrong. I know I’m not the only one and that this has been an issue for years.

This happened last year, too. We use a service to optimize the site, generally annually after we update the theme. We checked in with them after running the theme update this year and they said there is no need to run it this time, that the site is still optimized.

I’ve seen GDPR blamed, but our settings are correct, and GA4 has not dropped, only Shopify Analytics. I’ve seen it said that you’re starting fresh with SEO after a theme update, but, again, this is only Shopify, not Google, and it’s not that we’ve stopped seeing visitors; it’s that Shopify isn’t reporting them. No URLs have changed. 

So ninetysomething percent of the posts I’ve read have mentioned that they just ran a theme update, and, as I said, it happened to us last year, too. And then one day, BAM, we start getting numbers again. Not a slow increase. It’s jumps from zeroes to hundreds. What is it about a theme update that screws up Shopify’s repor---

And as I was typing this, I just looked at the Sessions Over Time report and it has, again, resolved itself, as of today.

I’ve done nothing, because none of the suggestions applied to us. Yet...

WTAF?!!

OK, so I don’t need help anymore, but I, for one, want to know why this happens every time we update our theme.

[Pandectes]

Hi @Dascalargo,

Have you checked your Customer Privacy settings during this period of the drop? You can find them in Shopify Admin > Online Store > Preferences > Customer Privacy.

If your store is set to comply with EU regulations, Shopify won’t track users until they explicitly give consent. If this setting was enabled or changed recently, it could explain the drop in analytics.

Let me know what you see there, and I’d be happy to help troubleshoot further! 🚀

[Dascalargo]

Thanks, @Pandectes. I’ve checked that setting, as well as turned it off and back on again.

I was wrong to think the issue was fixed in my original post. That turned out to be an odd one-day blip:

And now I’m having the same issue with a second site:

As you can see, it just flatlined in mid-January. This one was never updated, so there's nothing to explain why it started. As with the first site, GA4 is still giving me accurate results. I see between 0 and ten visits per day on Shopify, but over 800 on GA4.

Shopify said to try clearing the cache. Did that, as did my client, and we’re both still seeing the same thing. I even tried with a fresh installation of a different browser.

I appreciate that you took the time to offer some advice. This is so frustrating.