Facebooks Ads showing purchases but no orders on shopify

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Topic summary

A store owner is experiencing a major discrepancy where Facebook Ads reports 105 purchases while Shopify shows zero actual orders. The Pixel and events are set up, but the ‘Purchase’ event appears to be firing incorrectly.

Likely cause: Misconfigured Facebook Pixel tracking the Purchase event on wrong pages or actions rather than only on completed transactions.

Recommended troubleshooting steps:

  • Verify Pixel ID is correct in Shopify Admin > Online Store > Preferences
  • Check Purchase event configuration in Facebook Events Manager
  • Use Facebook Pixel Helper Chrome extension to test when events fire during the checkout flow
  • Set up Facebook & Instagram Sales Channel properly on Shopify
  • Configure Conversion API (CAPI) alongside the Pixel

Additional concern: Running traffic campaigns instead of conversion campaigns may attract clicks without purchase intent, leading to inflated metrics.

A follow-up question asks how to track which purchases originate from Facebook Ads when the Ads Manager doesn’t show purchase attribution despite the Pixel firing correctly.

Summarized with AI on November 9. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

i started running a traffic ad yesterday and it tells me I have 105 purchases when in fact I have 0. I did a test order to see if payment was working and it is but this is a huuuuuge difference in numbers. Also for other ads but not such a big discrepancy.

Pixel and events are set up - events also showing ‘purchases’ but not accurate.

what could be wrong?

my store: baggypack.com

2

Hi @baggypack

I think there is a misconfiguration in how the Facebook Pixel tracks the ‘Purchase’ event on your website. It may be incorrectly firing on pages or actions that are not actual purchases.

Here are the actions you can take to fix it:

1. Review your pixel installation

  • Go to your Shopify Admin panel.
  • Click on ‘Online Store’ and then ‘Preferences’.
  • Scroll down to the Facebook Pixel section and ensure your Pixel ID is correct.

2. Verify your purchase event configuration

  • Open Facebook Ads Manager.
  • Navigate to the ‘Events Manager’.
  • Select your Pixel and look at the setup for the ‘Purchase’ event.

3. Test the Pixel with Facebook Pixel Helper

  • Install the Facebook Pixel Helper extension for Google Chrome if you haven’t already.
  • Visit your store’s checkout page and conduct a test purchase.
  • The Pixel Helper should indicate a ‘Purchase’ event fired when you complete the order. If it fires at any other time, there’s your issue.

4. Adjust your pixel

  • If the Pixel fires incorrectly, you need to adjust the event in the ‘Events Manager’.
  • Use the ‘Event Setup Tool’ within the Manager to specify when the ‘Purchase’ event should fire (ideally on the ‘Thank You’ or order confirmation page).

Remember to place an order test to see whether your change fixes the issue or not.

I hope that this helps!

3

Highly likely pixel & CAPI aren’t setup properly.

Setup the Facebook & Instagram Sales Channel on Shopify properly.

4

Definitely sounds like a pixel issue. You can download the Facebook chrome extension to test when events are fired, go through landing page, product, cart, checkout and see if any purchase events are fired.

Also, don’t run traffic ads if you are looking for conversions. FB will send you what you are looking for, do you want people who click a lot of ads but don’t buy anything, if so buy traffic ads, else buy conversion ads. Your CTR will drop but visitors will have higher purchase intent.

5

Hello,

I did this and I can see at my chrome extension that it is working. However, when I have a new purchase at the back end of ads manager still can’t see the purchase on my shopify. All conversion summary don’t have any ‘facebook ads’ all of them are ‘online store’

Is there any way to track which of those purchases are from FB Ads?