Why Is My Session or Analytics Data Dropping After Installing Cookiebot? – Cookiebot for Shopify

After installing a consent management platform like Cookiebot, it is normal to see a decrease in measured sessions in Google Analytics and Shopify Analytics. This article explains why this happens and what you can do.

Why sessions drop — the expected behavior

When a visitor declines cookies (or does not interact with the banner), all non-essential tracking scripts — including Google Analytics — are blocked. This means those sessions are not recorded in GA4 or Shopify Analytics. This is correct, legal behavior required by GDPR.

Note

This is not a bug. A drop in measured sessions after installing Cookiebot is the expected result of properly enforcing user consent. Sessions from users who decline tracking will appear as 'Direct' traffic or will not be counted at all.

Why 'Direct' traffic increases

When a user declines analytics cookies, their session cannot be attributed to a traffic source. As a result, any subsequent activity — including purchases — appears as 'Direct' traffic in your analytics. This inflates your Direct channel and reduces the apparent share of Organic, Paid, and other sources.

Shopify Analytics vs. GA4 discrepancy

Shopify's native analytics counts sessions differently from GA4. Shopify uses its own first-party tracking (via the Customer Privacy API), while GA4 relies on cookies that require consent. As a result:

Shopify Analytics may show more sessions than GA4, because Shopify can track some activity without analytics cookies.
GA4 will only record sessions where the visitor has granted analytics_storage consent.

How to improve data accuracy

Enable the Shopify Customer Privacy API in your Cookiebot setup.
Use Google Consent Mode v2, which enables Google to use modelled data to estimate conversions from non-consenting users.
If using GTM, make sure it is installed in theme.liquid, not via a Custom Pixel.

Unusually high session counts or consent rates

If you are seeing an unusually high number of consent decisions or a very high opt-in rate, this may be caused by bot traffic. Bots can trigger the consent banner and automatically accept, inflating your consent numbers. If you suspect bot traffic, contact our support team.

A very high opt-in rate can also occur when your banner is configured to show only an 'Accept' button on the first layer, without a visible 'Deny' option.