Shopify stopped tracking purchases after August 26th? How to check and fix it

Short answer: since August 26, 2026, scripts on the Thank you and Order status pages of regular Shopify stores no longer run. If your purchase tracking lived there, purchases stopped reaching GA4, Google Ads or Meta, and nothing told you. The five checks below show in about ten minutes per store whether a client is affected, and how to fix it.

What changed on August 26th

Shopify replaced the Thank you and Order status pages with new versions. Plus stores moved on August 28, 2025. For all other stores the deadline was August 26, 2026, and stores that hadn't upgraded were upgraded automatically.

Old scripts don't run on the new pages. That covers the code in the "Additional scripts" box and script tags that apps placed there. The code often still shows in the admin, it just doesn't do anything. That's why it's easy to miss: everything looks fine except the numbers.

Check 1: are there still scripts on the order status page?

In Shopify, go to Settings › Checkout and find the "Additional scripts" box for the order status page. Is there a gtag('event', 'purchase'), a Meta Pixel or other conversion code? Then it hasn't tracked anything since August 26th. Also check which apps track purchases on the Thank you page. Older apps often did that with a script tag.

Check 2: do purchases still match orders?

Put the last 30 days of Shopify orders next to purchases in GA4 and Google Ads. They'll never match exactly: platforms count on different dates and with different windows. But a gap that suddenly grew since late August points to tracking that dropped out. Look at the day itself too: a drop around August 26th is the clearest signal.

Check 3: is your Google tag inside a custom pixel?

Many stores moved their tracking to a custom pixel under Customer events. That often works. But Google explicitly calls Google tags in a custom pixel "not a supported feature": data can appear to flow while collection problems still occur, and Google support won't help you fix them. Google recommends its Google & YouTube app instead. If a client's purchase tracking only lives in a custom pixel, that's a shaky foundation.

Check 4: is there a server-side purchase from the orders/create webhook?

The most reliable route leaves the browser out. For every new order, Shopify sends a webhook (orders/create) to an address you choose. That can be your server container, on Stape, TAGGRS or your own server, which forwards the purchase to GA4, Google Ads and Meta.

The upside: tracking doesn't depend on a page loading, an ad blocker or a customer closing the tab. Every paid order arrives. Mind consent though: a server-side purchase is only forwarded with the right consent signals.

Check 5: are browser and server both sending the purchase?

Many setups do both: a pixel in the browser and a purchase from the server. That's fine, as long as both send the same ID. Otherwise every order counts twice and revenue suddenly looks a lot higher.

• GA4: use the Shopify order number as transaction_id. GA4 deduplicates purchases with the same transaction ID within a web stream. Never send an empty transaction_id.

• Meta: send the same event_name and event_id in the Pixel and the Conversions API. Meta then keeps one.

How to fix it

1. Remove the old purchase code from "Additional scripts", so nobody assumes it still works.

2. Pick one source for the purchase: ideally server-side from orders/create, optionally alongside a browser pixel.

3. Make sure browser and server share the same ID (transaction_id for GA4, event_id for Meta).

4. After a week, compare orders with GA4 and Ads again (check 2).

5. Turn on monitoring, so you notice when tracking stops before your client does.

Fixing this for several clients at once? In TrackLead you set up the server-side purchase in your client's own GTM, on the host you already use. Visit tracklead.eu.

FAQ

Does this apply to Shopify Plus too?

Yes, but earlier. On Plus stores, script tags on the Order status page stopped running on August 28, 2025.

My scripts are still in the admin. Don't they work?

No. After the switch to the new pages they no longer run, even though they're still visible.

Is a custom pixel enough?

For many stores it works, but Google doesn't support Google tags in a custom pixel. For the purchase itself, server-side tracking from the webhook is more reliable.

Do I still need consent with server-side tracking?

Yes. Server-side changes where the data goes, not whether you need consent.

Why am I seeing duplicate purchases?

Most likely the browser and the server both send a purchase without a shared ID. See check 5.