Summary

You may notice that Shopify shows a different number of sessions (and session-based metrics) than Triple Whale Web Analytics. The primary reason is that Shopify uses a cookie-based model and resets sessions at 30 minutes of inactivity or midnight UTC, while Triple Whale starts a session any time a visitor arrives from a Direct, Referral, or UTM source and ends it 30 minutes after the last page view.

Why This Happens

• Shopify’s Cookie-Based Logic

  • A visitor is tracked with device cookies.
  • Sessions end 30 minutes after inactivity or at midnight UTC.
  • The same visitor can accumulate multiple sessions if they return after inactivity or cross midnight.

• Triple Whale’s Source-Based Approach

  • A new session begins whenever a visitor arrives from a Direct, Referral, or UTM source.
  • The session ends 30 minutes after the last page view. Midnight has no effect on Triple Whale sessions.
  • Visitors revisiting without a new source remain in the same session unless 30 minutes pass with no page views.

Example Scenario

1. Shopify

   • A user browses your store at 11:50 PM for 15 minutes, leaves at 12:05 AM, then returns at 12:10 AM.
   • Shopify sees two sessions: one before midnight, and another after midnight (since midnight forces a new session).

2. Triple Whale

   • If the user doesn’t switch to a new source or exceed 30 minutes of inactivity, Triple Whale counts it as a single session spanning the user’s entire visit (the midnight time boundary is irrelevant).

How This Affects Reporting

• Session Counts May Vary

  • Because Shopify resets sessions at midnight or after 30 minutes idle, it might record more or fewer sessions than Triple Whale’s source-based approach.
  • You’ll often see different totals for “sessions” in each platform.

• Derived Metrics Ripple

  • Bounce rate in Triple Whale may differ if Shopify splits short visits into multiple sessions or lumps them together differently.
  • Average session duration can be impacted if Shopify ends sessions at midnight, while Triple Whale continues them until 30 minutes of inactivity.
  • Conversion rate (orders ÷ sessions) might not align because the session denominator is defined differently in each platform.

How to Interpret the Data Correctly

• Focus on Trends in Each Platform
  Track how Shopify’s session metrics change over time within Shopify, and how Triple Whale’s session metrics evolve within Triple Whale, rather than forcing them to match.

• Recognize Cookie vs. Source Definition

  • Shopify uses cookies and midnight resets.
  • Triple Whale uses a strict 30-minute window after the last page view, ignoring midnight.

• Also Note Changes in Triple Whale’s Sessions Definition
  If you’re comparing older Triple Whale data to current data, be aware that it previously counted page views with UTMs differently.

By understanding Shopify’s cookie-driven session resets and Triple Whale’s source-driven session logic, you can better interpret why the two platforms’ session-based metrics—such as conversion rate, bounce rate, and average session duration—may not align exactly.