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Guide of Shopify’s New Web Pixel API and Customer Events Feature 2023

· 4 min read
Elton Wang

After several month under developer beta mode, Shopify officially released their new Web Pixel and Customer Events product to public on October 3rd 2022. This means Apps like Omnitrack can install, test, and feedback to Shopify as they improved and upgrade this new feature.

What is the Pixel & Customer Events feature?​

The Shopify Web Pixel manager allows merchants to manage and activate pixels(tags or tracking scripts) which can track customer events. Customer events are actions that can be triggered in the customer’s browser, initiating checkout or search a product. Merchants can add pixels through custom apps like Omnitrack or build their own pixel and subscribe to Shopify’s customer events.

What has changed with the new Shopify Web pixel & customer events ?​

With the web pixel and customer events API, merchants can get insights into how customers are engaging with their website and understand the full customer journey of each individual customer. This data can then be used to optimize marketing campaigns and build your own target audience. Shopify web pixels include standard events including:

●Pageview

●Product view

●AddtoCart

●CollectionView

●Search

●Checkout start and Payment submission

●Checkout complete

With Omnitrack, merchants can also select custom events, such as add to cart for specific products or collection. Besides, merchants can also define custom pixels.

Shopify offers a secure sandbox environment for app pixels and custom pixels, so you can run scripts without disrupting your online shopify theme store.

Conversion Tracking Overview on Shopify​

Conversion tracking is a shopify tool for merchants measure, track merchant campaigns on media platforms, here are some example:

●Ads Platform like Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.

●Google Adwords, Bing Ads, and other user searches

●Affiliates like Impact, CJ, and Shareasale

●Display networks like Criteo, Adroll, and GDN

Pixel tracking approaches and comparision​

Before the web pixel API, there are serveral ways shopify allow merchants to do the conversion tracking, include:

●Native Shopify App created by Shopify themselves, like "Facebook Channel", "Google Channel".

●Third Party Shopify App, there are media initiated app like AWIN and Tiktok, or apps like Omnitrack enable merchants to install multiple pixels with multiple medias in one place.

●GTM(google tag manager)

●Checkout.liquid file, merchants with Shopify Plus can add tracking code into the checkout file through the Checkout Liquid theme file.

●Theme.liquid theme file, which is not limited only for Plus merchants, all merchants can use this way to add tracking code.

●Order status page scripts

Actually most above ways to implement by theme file changing are only client side tracking, which has several problem with them:

1.It is time-consuming to install and manage the theme files

2.Theme file Pixels are easily blocked by iOS14+, AdBlockers, Browser restrictions, bugs, errors, etc.

3.Client Side tracking are only 60%~90% accurate comparing to a Server Side tracking.

4.Client side tracking can not process cross device customer identity mapping.

5.Shopify changes and upgrades may affect theme files. For example, Shopify has released their new checkout and checkout UI customization at the end of 2022. Once you update to the new checkout experience, then your client side tracking in the checkout files will have to migrate.

Omnitrack allows you to configure no coding Client Side Tracking along with Server Side Tracking, and depulicate events. Many customers has seen pixel data accuracy improvement by 20%~40%.

How to implement pixels with Shopify customer events?​

Web pixel such as Facebook pixel, google tags can also be installed via shopify customer events feature. Merchants just need to enter the Facebook pixel ID in their Shopify dashboard.

You can deploy shopify web pixel either by app pixels or custom pixels.

1.App pixels. You can search from Shopify App Store to find couple of pixel apps. For example, you may install Omnitrack to get rich events immediately.

2.Custom pixels. If you have an full understanding of HTML code and want full control over customizing tracking scripts, then you can use custom pixel. However, Cusom pixels does not implement the server side, so you may still need some PHP or Java skill to implement the server side tracking.