Convertion rate is misleading?

Shopify Discussion
1

Hello,

I have a question regarding my convertion rate. When I compare the number of converted sessions with the number of total orders to this date in 2024 there is a difference around 18% less converted sessions than total orders.

When I look into the data, the drop in converted sessions started in March and the difference in the two numbers has been more and less the same since then. The data from 2023 and for the two first months of 2024 is different. In these periods the number of converted sessions and the number of total orders are almost the same.

I’m aware that some sessions can end up as one converted sessions with 2 orders if the customer places two orders in a short period of time. But even when I take that into consideration, the difference between the two numbers doesn’t make sence.

My question is; what is wrong with the data, and when should I trust in regards of convertion rate?

If i take the total number of orders and divide with the total number of sessions the convertion rate is fare beyond the convertion rate that Shopify Analytics gives me? (this was not the case in 2023).

Hopefully someone can give me a idea of witch data to trust, my own calculation or Shopifys? And what may cause this missleading data?

Best regards
Mathias

2

We’ve collected some data on this, and it seems the conversion data can both under and over report final sales figures. It’s difficult to fully establish why but my current operating thesis is a combination of whether the order was an instant checkout or added to cart, and variations in dynamic checkout method.

We weren’t able to see a correlation between a specific dynamic checkout method not being reported for instance, but I do wonder if a combination of dynamic payment method and instant checkout results in the sale not being recorded correctly?

3

Thank you for the reply. I’ve been looking into myself after the post, and a thought have come to my mind.

In february 2024 where the difference really started to show, we started running abandoned cart and checkout emails trough Klaviyo. These e-mails sent customers straight to the cart / checkout, and that could maybe result in Shopify not tracking a converted session? Whats your thought about that?