Solved: Facebook Pixel Not Tracking Purchase Conversion Event

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. Happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on getting your Facebook pixel tracking sorted for your Shopify store, and maybe why you're seeing that purchase event showing as inactive.

We'll need to look at your pixel setup and your website...

Seeing the 'Purchase' event listed as inactive on Facebook side usually points to a few things. It most commonly means that Facebook isn't actually receiving the 'Purchase' signal from your website. This could be because no one's completing a purchase right now, or, crucially, the pixel isn't firing correctly on the order confirmation page even when someone does buy something.

While Shopify has its own checks and might tell you the pixel is connected fine, that doesn't always mean the specific events, like Purchase, are being sent back to Facebook accurately. Sometimes the integration can be a bit temperamental, or there might be another script on your site interfering with it. A really simple step is to use the Facebook Pixel Helper browser extension (if you haven't already). Go through the checkout process yourself on your site and see if the Pixel Helper shows the Purchase event firing on the final thank you or order confirmation page. If it's not firing there, that's your first problem to fix – it's a technical setup issue on your site itself, likely related to how the pixel code is implemented via Shopify.

However, even if the pixel seems set up technically via Shopify, the inactive status often points to a deeper issue than just a tick-box setting. If no one is actually buying from your store, the purchase event won't fire, regardless of perfect pixel setup. So we need to think about why that might be happening.

I'd say the website itself is usually the main culprit...

Based on a load of eCommerce campaigns we've run, when ads aren't converting into purchases, the most frequent problem isn't usually the pixel itself, but the store's ability to convert visitors into buyers. Think about it – if someone lands on your site from an ad, but isn't convinced or feels uncomfortable buying, they'll leave, and the purchase event will never get a chance to fire. It's like having a fantastic till in a shop, but no one ever gets to it because the products look terrible or the shop looks dodgy.

We've worked on campaigns where the pixel setup seemed okay initially, but conversion rates were rock bottom. Once we dug into the website, we found things like really unclear product photos, missing descriptions, or a general lack of trust signals. For example, with a subscription box client, we saw conversions pick up significantly after improving their landing page and adding more persuasive copy and clear trust badges. Similarly, we helped a cleaning products client increase revenue and ROAS by focusing on optimising their product pages and checkout flow. These things directly impact whether someone clicks 'buy', and therefore whether your pixel ever sees a purchase to report back to Facebook.

You really need to look at your store critically from a potential customer's perspective. Does it load quickly? Are the product images professional and show the product clearly? Are the descriptions detailed enough and persuasive? Does the site look legitimate and trustworthy? Things like customer reviews, testimonials, clear contact information, secure payment badges, and transparent shipping/return policies are absolutely essential. If your store doesn't instil confidence, visitors are highly unlikely to punch in their credit card details.

Look at the different stages of the buying process...

If you're getting traffic from your ads but no purchases, try to figure out where people are dropping off in your store's funnel. Even without the purchase event tracking yet, you should be able to see other standard events (if they're firing) like 'Page View', 'View Content' (product page views), 'Add to Cart', and 'Initiate Checkout'.

If you have low traffic or really high cost per click (CPC) from your ads, that might point to your ad creative or targeting needing work. Your ads aren't attracting the right people or aren't compelling enough to click. One campaign we worked on for a luxury brand launch got 10 million views on Meta ads, which shows the power of compelling creative for getting attention, though conversion to purchase is a different step.

If you're getting visitors to your homepage but few are clicking through to product pages, perhaps your homepage layout is confusing, or your featured products aren't appealing. Maybe your targeting is off, and you're attracting people who aren't interested in your specific products.

If you're getting lots of product page views but few 'Add to Carts', then the issue is likely with the product itself or the presentation of it on the page. Is the price right? Are there good photos and videos? Is the description persuasive and answer all potential questions? Maybe you need a special offer like free shipping or a discount to incentivise adding to cart. We saw a significant increase in purchases for a women's apparel client after improving their product page layouts and imagery.

If you're getting 'Add to Carts' and 'Initiate Checkouts' but few purchases, the problem is probably with the checkout process itself. Is it too long? Are there unexpected shipping costs? Do you offer enough payment methods? Is the checkout page secure and trustworthy-looking? Sometimes reducing friction here, even by just simplifying the form fields, can boost conversions massively.

The key is to use whatever data you *do* have available (even just visitor numbers and where they go on your site) to diagnose where the problem is. Is it attracting the right traffic, getting them to the products, convincing them to add to cart, or getting them through checkout?

Recommended next steps:

Fixing the pixel tracking is important, of course, because you need accurate data to optimise your ads for purchases. But getting the Purchase event to show active ultimately depends on people actually buying things. So, improving your website's ability to convert visitors is probably the single most impactful thing you can do right now.

It takes a bit of time and testing to get all these pieces working together smoothly – the ads, the targeting, the website, the offer, and the pixel tracking. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes from someone who deals with this stuff day-in, day-out can spot issues you might overlook when you're in the thick of it. Figuring out exactly why people aren't buying and implementing the right fixes across ads and your store can be a complex process, but it's essential for making paid advertising profitable.

If you'd like to chat through your specific setup and website in more detail, happy to book in a free consultation call to give you some more tailored advice.

Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh