Measurement
Ecommerce platform attribution checks: Google Analytics, Attribution and PECR
A platform-by-platform check of attribution models for Shopify, WooCommerce and Google Analytics 4. It names the default and selectable models where sources support them, records lookback windows, and keeps PECR cookie consent and third-party app verification beside the measurement evidence.
Name the platform before you compare the model
Attribution is a rule, a set of rules or a data-driven algorithm that decides how credit is split across touchpoints before a purchase. Two stores can run the same model name and produce different numbers, because each platform records a different journey. Put the platform name, the report and the model on the same line of your platform selection checklist.
This article compares Shopify and WooCommerce because both publish how their attribution works. Google Analytics 4 sits above them as a measurement layer. Third-party attribution apps are treated separately: their vendor, App Store listing, plan names and prices need verification before any comparison.
Shopify: last non-direct click and a 30-day reset
Shopify's marketing reports show an attribution menu when a report combines sales metrics with marketing dimensions such as referral source. WeltPixel's June 2026 guide reports the default is last non-direct click, with last click, first click, any click and linear selectable in that menu. Check the live menu before you rely on the list.
Shopify's CustomerJourney API documentation describes a 30-day attribution window. WeltPixel reports the stored referrer resets if a shopper does not buy within 30 days of a session. Ask the demonstrator to show a journey that crosses that boundary, so the reset appears in the report rather than being assumed.
A Shopify marketing report can also show a sales total that differs from other reports, because it counts only traffic attributable to marketing activity. Record the report name, date range and selected model together. A screenshot without those three fields is not usable evidence.
WooCommerce: last click with session-scoped cookies
WooCommerce 8.5 enabled Order Attribution Tracking by default, according to WooCommerce's 2024 documentation. That documentation describes a last-click model: it gives 100% of conversion credit to the last interaction before a customer lands on the store, whether that was an ad, an email or a listing. Confirm the model on screen during a demo.
WordPress.org support threads report that WooCommerce Order Attribution sets sbjs_* Sourcebuster cookies when a visitor browses the shop, before checkout. Those cookies exist ahead of the order, even though WooCommerce saves order attribution metadata only when the order is placed. Ask the demonstrator to show the cookies and the report entry they feed.
The session-scoped Sourcebuster cookies do not join visits across sessions, so the feature cannot follow a considered purchase spread over weeks. Ask how any gap is covered, if at all, and record the answer beside the same platform report path.
Settings sit at WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features > Order Attribution. Reporting sits in the WooCommerce Analytics Order Attribution report, which needs the Analytics extension. Check both screens: the switch proves the feature is on, and the report proves which orders carry the data.
Google Analytics 4: reporting credit versus Ads credit
Scope the property first. These checks apply to a Google Analytics 4 property, including a 360 property, not to a Universal Analytics view, a Google Ads report or a spreadsheet export. Ask the operator to name the property ID and the report before anyone discusses a model.
WeltPixel's May 2026 GA4 guide lists three remaining reporting models: data-driven, paid and organic last click, and Google paid channels last click. Google's attribution settings help says first click, linear, time decay and position-based became unavailable in November 2023. Switching away from last click can show fractional credit in specified metrics.
Keep that reporting choice separate from conversion attribution settings shared with Google Ads, and check the Ads conversion model in the linked product. Google's help page lists the reporting model and conversion windows under attribution settings; an operator should show both screens rather than a slide.
Compare named models and their reporting scope
| Check | Shopify | WooCommerce | Google Analytics 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default model | Last non-direct click in marketing reports, according to WeltPixel's June 2026 guide | Last click, on by default from WooCommerce 8.5; gives 100% credit to the last interaction, according to WooCommerce documentation | Data-driven for reporting, according to WeltPixel's May 2026 GA4 guide; check the Ads conversion model in the linked product |
| Models you can select | Last non-direct click, last click, first click, any click, linear | Last click | Data-driven, paid and organic last click, Google paid channels last click |
| Where to check it | Marketing reports attribution menu | WooCommerce > Settings > Advanced > Features > Order Attribution; Analytics Order Attribution report | Attribution settings page; Advertising conversion attribution reports |
| Journey limit | 30-day attribution window, per Shopify's CustomerJourney API documentation | sbjs_* Sourcebuster cookies set when browsing, before an order; session-scoped | 30 days for acquisition key events; 90 days for other key events, with 30 or 60 days selectable; 3 days for engaged-view key events |
| Consent hook | Check theme or consent app before tags fire | WP Consent API compatible | Check the Consent Mode version and states against Google's documentation |
Separate lookback windows from model choice
Google's attribution settings help defines the key event lookback window as how far back in time a touchpoint remains eligible for credit. It says the setting applies to all attribution models and all key event types, and it also applies to session attribution. Changes apply going forward and appear in reports within the property.
Google's help page gives 30 days by default for acquisition key events such as first_open and first_visit, with a 7-day option. Other key events default to 90 days, with 30 or 60 days selectable, and engaged-view key events default to 3 days. Record the chosen window beside the property ID.
WooCommerce's session-scoped Sourcebuster cookies impose a shorter memory than most platform settings. Shopify's 30-day window is a different rule again. Record each window with a date, then compare report outputs only where the windows actually match. Do not compare mismatched windows as if they were the same.
If a vendor quotes a lookback capability, ask for the proposed setting rather than the maximum. A 365-day capability is not evidence that a 365-day window is configured. Retain the answer with your vendor due diligence record.
Keep vendor identity attached to named plans
An app marketed as 'Attribution' cannot enter a comparison until its vendor, App Store listing, plan names, currency and prices are verified. Check the Shopify App Store listing on the day of the demo. Record what you find beside the platform costs entry, and do not treat the listing as native platform reporting.
Ask for the vendor's legal name, the App Store listing URL, the plan names, the currency and a price dated on the day of the demo. Add the included models, the connector list and the default lookback window. Keep those fields beside your platform costs entries.
Do not treat an app's model coverage as a platform's native reporting. The two sit on different contracts, renew separately and fail separately. Your measurement and reporting requirements should state which layer owns each number.
Put PECR and consent beside measurement evidence
PECR's cookie rule is regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. The ICO's PECR guidance says you must tell people what cookies do and why, and obtain consent that is actively and clearly given. It applies even without personal data.
The ICO updated its storage and access technologies guidance on 29 April 2026. Check that page for how the cookie rule applies to tracking pixels and similar technologies used for attribution. Treat attributing a sale to a marketing click as a consent question as well as a modelling question.
The ICO's final storage and access technologies guidance sets out the current consent exceptions. The categories to check on the ICO page include statistical, appearance and emergency purposes; do not assume a marketing attribution cookie falls inside them. Read the live categories before relying on one.
Check the consent platform's configured refresh period and whether a change of purpose triggers a new request. The ICO's current guidance is the place to confirm any recommended refresh interval. Record the setting you find, because a remembered interval is not evidence of the live configuration.
WooCommerce's Order Attribution Tracking documentation states compatibility with the WP Consent API. On Shopify, ask which consent app or customer-privacy setting blocks the relevant tags before an order is recorded. Organise the wider checks with your UK regulations review, then verify behaviour in a test order.
Consent Mode: demonstrate the update
If Google tags are proposed, ask for a demonstration of Google Consent Mode and the resulting behaviour of the Google tags. Ask which Consent Mode version is implemented and record it against the container. Check Google's Consent Mode documentation for the current default and update states. Tags that fire before a choice fail the check.
Example: an attribution evidence checklist for a platform demo
Use one sample journey per platform: an ad click, a return visit, then a purchase. Ask the demonstrator to show the report, the model name and the credited touchpoint. Record the allocation without inventing percentages, and note any gap between the platform report and Google Analytics.
- Shopifymarketing report name, selected model, date range and the 30-day reset.
- WooCommerceOrder Attribution switch state and the Order Attribution report in Analytics.
- Google Analytics 4property ID, reporting model, key event lookback window and Google Ads conversion model.
- Third-party applegal vendor, App Store listing, plan, currency, models, connectors and default lookback.
- PECRregulation 6 consent evidence, refresh interval and Consent Mode version.
- Owner and date for every unresolved item.
Keep commercial suitability, model coverage and consent evidence in separate columns. A good answer on price should not close an open question about the lookback window, and a neat report should not close a consent gap. Log each outcome in your review methodology.
