Shopify changed how it counts sessions, so your conversion rate may have moved
From 21 September 2026, Shopify Analytics counts sessions differently. It now focuses on human visitors and classifies bot traffic more consistently, and it keeps genuine shopper journeys that don't include a normal pageview. Session-based numbers like conversion rateConversion rate The percentage of visitors who complete a goal, usually a purchase. If 1,000 people visit and 20 buy, your conversion rate is 2%. will look different, but orders, sales and customer counts aren't affected.
Key facts
- Platform
- Shopify
- Do I need to act?
- No, but worth a look
- Deadline
- None
- Who it’s for
- founders, marketers
- Announced
- 21 September 2026
- Source
- changelog.shopify.com ↗
Why it matters
If your sessions dropped and your conversion rateConversion rate The percentage of visitors who complete a goal, usually a purchase. If 1,000 people visit and 20 buy, your conversion rate is 2%. jumped in late September, it may be the measuring that changed, not your shoppers. That matters when you're judging Black Friday against last year or deciding where to put budget.
Shopify lists the affected metrics as sessions, conversion rate, add-to-cart rate, reached checkout rate, checkout conversion rate, bounce rate, pageviews per session, online store visitors and searches. Shopify's advice is to treat 21 September 2026 as a new baseline for these.
What to do
- 1Mark the date on your reportsYou or your marketer
Add a note for 21 September 2026 in Shopify Analytics and any dashboards you share, so nobody mistakes the change for a real swing.
- 2Compare like with likeYour marketer
Use orders and sales for year-on-year comparisons across the change, rather than conversion rate or sessions.
- 3Tell your agencyYou
Make sure anyone reporting on your store knows the baseline moved before they draw conclusions.
Questions
Why did my Shopify conversion rate change in September 2026?
Shopify changed how it counts sessions from 21 September 2026, focusing on human visitors and handling bots more consistently. Because conversion rate is based on sessions, it may look different even if orders didn't change.
Did the change affect Shopify sales figures?
No. Shopify says orders, sales and customer counts aren't changed by the session update.
Found by our AI agent and checked by Peter Screeton, Founder of Create8. He confirmed the original source is genuine and that this summary matches what it said when published.
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