Small discrepancies between Add to Cart (ATC) and Begin Checkout compared to other analytics tools are by design. These discrepancies are rooted in funnel logic, session parameters, and event attribution rules. Understanding these differences is key to interpreting your funnel metrics correctly and making decisions based on the right data set for your use case.
In this article, we will focus on the difference between Heatmap and Shopify’s funnel reporting.
Open vs. Closed Funnel Tracking
Tracking Open vs. Closed funnels is mission-critical to interpreting your data correctly. The fundamental difference is that Open Funnels count users at any step, even if they skipped earlier ones, while Closed Funnels only count users who completed all previous steps in order.
Here’s a breakdown of the difference between the two:
Funnel Logic Type | Logic | Result |
Open Funnel | Users can enter and be counted at any step, even if they haven’t completed previous steps or did them out of order. | Higher numbers at each step. Good for seeing overall activity, but harder to track exact user paths. |
Closed Funnel | Users must complete all steps in the correct order during the same session. | Lower numbers, but cleaner counts. Shows a clearer picture of where users drop off. |
If you want your Shopify funnel data to line up better with what you see in Heatmap, try switching to a closed funnel in Shopify. That means only users who go through each step in order will be counted. It’s still a bit broader than what Heatmap tracks (like it might include longer sessions or less engaged users), but it’ll help reduce the gap quite a bit.
Also, keep in mind that Heatmap only tracks “Add to Cart” and “Begin Checkout” events if the session starts on your website, not if someone jumps straight to the Cart or Checkout page from a link or bookmark. That’s another reason why the numbers might look a little different.
3 Scenarios of Checkout Behavior
The following three scenarios show how Shopify may track an Add to Cart or Checkout event, but Heatmap intentionally does not.
Scenario 1: User Skips Add to Cart
Some websites use the tactic of having a “Buy Now” CTA on pages other than Product Pages. If these CTAs link directly to Checkout, they don’t trigger your Cart, and therefore don’t trigger an Add to Cart event. These sessions will not track if an "Add to Cart" event is not triggered.
How Heatmap vs Shopify Tracks This:
Shopify logs the event as "Begin Checkout" since the checkout was reached.
Heatmap excludes the session from the funnel because the "Add to Cart" event did not occur.
Why does this happen?
The most common sources of this user behavior are custom landing pages, “skip-cart” buttons, and third-party apps.
Scenario 2: Session Starts at Checkout
This is the largest factor in the difference between Heatmap vs Shopify tracking methodologies. Shopify counts sessions that first enter the Cart or Checkout, while Heatmap does not. Heatmap tracks sessions that originate from your website experience, prior to Checkout.
Examples:
User opens a recovery email or an abandoned cart SMS that links directly to the checkout.
The user never visits any product or cart page in this session.
How Heatmap vs Shopify Tracks This:
Shopify logs this as a valid "Begin Checkout" event.
Heatmap does not count this funnel step since the session began off-site and skipped all earlier website interactions.
Why does this happen?
The biggest source of this is Abandoned Cart Emails, which typically place the user back where they left, typically in the Cart or Checkout with the products they already added to the cart. This is an amazing tactic for email marketing, but it will appear differently in your analytics.
The 3 main sources of this behavior:
Klaviyo abandoned cart emails
Meta and TikTok retargeting ads (and Shop) linking directly to /checkout
SMS platforms like Postscript or Attentive
These users never passed through the storefront in this session, so Heatmap does not include them in funnel reports by design.
Scenario 3: Incomplete Sessions or Unengaged Behavior
Heatmap’s data model requires all sessions to be engaged, which is defined as a session with a subsequent click or scroll, or last longer than 5 seconds. You can read more about Heatmap’s data model and methodology here. Just like sessions, all actions must also be engaged with the same requirements to be tracked.
Examples:
A user is on a Collections Page, clicks into a Product Page but quickly hits the “Back” button before the page loads. The "Product Viewed" event isn't recorded.
A user triggers an "Add to Cart" event, but leaves the website within 5 seconds. The "Add to Cart" event isn't triggered.
In our experience, these are a very small percentage of discrepancies you'll see, however important to note.
How Heatmap vs Shopify Tracks This:
A user triggers ATC but immediately bounces without further engagement.
Shopify counts the ATC event.
Heatmap filters the session as unqualified due to no meaningful engagement (e.g., no scroll, second click, or pageview), and excludes it from funnel reporting.
All of Heatmap’s data models are built on engaged human behavior. This doesn’t just account for total sessions, but engagement actions as well.
Need Help?
If you have questions or run into any issues while using Heatmap, our support team is here to help. Contact us anytime at Support@heatmap.com.