Mobile App Purchases counted as (Direct/None) in GA4

Shopify Discussion
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Topic summary

Issue: Purchases from a Shopify mobile app built with Magenative are being attributed as (Direct/None) in GA4 instead of the app/channel.

Details and evidence:

  • GA4 (Google Analytics 4) shows a high volume of purchases under Direct/None, suggesting no identifiable source/referrer.
  • Comparison with Shopify’s “sales by channel” report indicates these are likely app-driven purchases.
  • Drilling into GA4 using “Source” as a secondary dimension shows many purchases tied to unique checkout landing pages with only one session, reinforcing misattribution.

Context/terms:

  • GA4 = Google Analytics 4.
  • Direct/None = traffic with no detected source/medium (often missing or stripped attribution).
  • Magenative = mobile app builder for Shopify stores.

Status:

  • User asks if others face the same issue and how to resolve it.
  • No solutions or confirmations provided yet; discussion remains open.

Notes:

  • Attached screenshots (GA4 reports) illustrate the attribution patterns and are central to the issue.
Summarized with AI on January 8. AI used: gpt-5.
1

Hello Everyone

I am using magenative mobile app builder for the app, and the purchases are being counted as (Direct/None) Purchaes in GA4, I am pretty sure these are the app purchases as I compared numbers from shopify sales by channel report, Also digging into landing pages purchases with Source as secondary dimension in GA4 I can see that many purchase associated to unique checkout pages with one 1 session.

Is anyone facing the same issue? Does anyone knows how to solve this?

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