Shopware Analytics vs. marketing tracking

- What really shows you where your sales are coming from?

The €5,000 problem

A shop operator invests 5,000 euros in Google Ads in December. At the end of the month, he looks at Shopware Analytics: 15,000 euros turnover, 120 orders. At first glance, this looks good. The question remains: How much of this turnover actually came from the ads?

Shopware Analytics does not provide an answer to this. It shows the total turnover, the number of orders and perhaps the average order value. But which marketing channel was responsible for which sale - that remains invisible.

Without this information, budget decisions can only be guessed at. More money in Google Ads? Or was the newsletter more successful? Does Facebook work at all? As long as the origin of sales is unclear, shop operators are flying blind.

This article explains what Shopware Analytics can actually do, where its limits lie and why an additional tracking level becomes necessary as soon as a marketing budget is involved.

What is Shopware Analytics anyway?

Shopware is an e-commerce system for online shops. The focus is on sales processes: Creating products, managing shopping baskets, processing checkouts, processing orders. It is not a marketing platform or a content management system, but a tool for operational online sales.

The Analytics function in Shopware analyses internal shop data. This means that it shows what has happened in the shop. This includes turnover by period, order numbers, product sales, customer development and the average order value. This data is reliable, consistent and closely linked to the shop logic.

Shopware Analytics answers the question: What was sold? It shows the status of the shop, the economic development and the performance of individual products. These analyses are important for controlling, reporting and evaluating shop operations.

What Shopware Analytics does not show: Why a purchase was made. Or which channel a buyer used to access the shop. This information is generated outside the shop system and belongs to a different level.

What Shopware Analytics can't do!

Marketing origins are not created in the shop, but before it. A user clicks on a Google advert, follows a link from a newsletter or comes to the shop via an Instagram post. These events happen outside of Shopware. The system is unaware of this because it only becomes active as soon as the user accesses the shop URL.

Shopware Analytics only analyses what happens in the shop itself. It sees the order, the product, the time. But not the source that brought the user to the shop. This is not a weakness, but a deliberate demarcation. Shopware is not a tracking tool for marketing channels.

In concrete terms, this means that questions such as „Which Google Ads campaign generates sales?“ or „Does Facebook traffic actually sell?“ cannot be answered with Shopware Analytics.

Nor: „Which channel has the best return on investment?“ or „Where do users drop out at the checkout - and where did they originally come from?“

An example: Shopware Analytics shows 80 orders in November. This figure is correct. But whether 30 of them came from Google Ads, 20 from a newsletter and 30 organically via Google - that remains invisible. The analysis ends where the marketing question begins.

Comparison: Shopware Analytics vs. marketing tracking

There are two levels of analysis that fulfil different tasks. Shopware Analytics shows what happened in the shop. Marketing tracking shows why it happened. Both levels complement each other, but do not replace each other.

Shopware Analytics provides the status: sales, orders, products. Marketing tracking provides the cause: origin, campaigns, user paths. Together, this provides the complete picture.

Concrete scenarios: Where Shopware Analytics reaches its limits

Scenario 1: Optimise Google Ads budget

A shop operator runs three Google Ads campaigns, each with a budget of 1,500 euros. At the end of the month, Shopware Analytics shows 45 orders. The question is: Which of the three campaigns actually sold? Which one only generated clicks but no conversions?

Without this information, there are two options: Either blindly continue with the same budgets, or blindly cut in the hope of doing the right thing. Both are guesswork, not a decision based on data.

Scenario 2: Newsletter vs. social media

A newsletter costs 200 euros per month, Facebook Ads cost 2,000 euros. Shopware Analytics shows 80 orders in the period. The question: Does Facebook justify ten times the cost? Does the newsletter generate more sales per euro than the social media campaign?

Without an allocation of sales to a channel, only a gut feeling remains. Maybe 60 orders came from the newsletter and only 20 from Facebook. Maybe it was the other way round. The decision to postpone or stop the budget is based on assumptions rather than facts.

Scenario 3: Understanding checkout cancellations

Shopware Analytics shows 200 shopping baskets and 50 orders. This corresponds to an abandonment rate of 75 per cent. The question: Is the problem due to the checkout itself, or are certain traffic sources cancelling more frequently? Perhaps users from Google Ads rather than organic visitors?

Without origin data, the problem cannot be localised. It could be due to the checkout, the target group, the campaign quality or the product selection. Targeted optimisation is not possible as long as it remains unclear where the abandoners came from.

What you need for well-founded marketing decisions

Sensible marketing analytics combines shop data with origin data. The requirements are clear: there needs to be an allocation of sales to marketing sources, traceable user paths from the first click to the order and transparency about cancellations in the purchasing process. Campaigns must be comparable and developments over time must be visible.

The important thing is not a flood of data, but clear answers to specific questions. Which channel generates which sales? Which campaign works, which doesn't? Where is more budget worthwhile, where should it be cut?

The goal is to make decisions based on sales, not on traffic or clicks. Traffic is a key figure, but not a basis for decision-making. One channel can bring a thousand visitors and still not generate a single sale. Another channel may only bring a hundred visitors, but ten purchases. Without a link between origin and turnover, this realisation remains hidden.

Trackboxx: The marketing layer for Shopware

Trackboxx is not an alternative to Shopware Analytics, but a supplement. While Shopware Analytics shows what has happened in the shop, Trackboxx records where users come from and how this origin affects conversions and sales.

What Trackboxx does differently

Trackboxx records the origin: Google, Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, newsletters, organic traffic and other sources. This information is linked to the purchase process. The system not only shows that a sale has taken place, but also which marketing channel was responsible for it.

User paths become visible: first contact via Facebook, second visit via Google, purchase after clicking on the newsletter. Such paths are frequent in reality, but remain invisible without tracking. Trackboxx makes them traceable and enables attribution - the assignment of a sale to one or more channels.

Campaigns can be compared on a sales basis. Not on the basis of clicks or impressions, but on the basis of the actual sales they have triggered. This is the difference between „1,000 clicks“ and „1,000 clicks, including 15 purchases with a turnover of 3,000 euros“.

Concrete use cases

A shop operator runs several Google Ads campaigns. Trackboxx shows which of these actually generate sales and which only generate clicks without conversion. Budget can be shifted specifically to campaigns that work.

A newsletter is sent out. Shopware Analytics shows rising sales in the days that follow. Trackboxx shows how much of this is specifically attributable to the newsletter. Was it 500 euros or 5,000 euros? The answer determines whether the newsletter is worthwhile.

Social media is used. Instagram and Facebook cost time and budget. Trackboxx shows whether these channels actually sell or just bring traffic that doesn't buy anything in the shop. The conclusion may be: Instagram brings a lot of reach, but hardly any sales. Facebook has less reach but a higher conversion rate.

Attribution becomes visible: A user comes to the shop for the first time via a Google advert, but does not buy. Three days later, he returns directly and places an order. Without tracking, this counts as „direct traffic“. With tracking, it becomes visible: The Google advert was the initial contact that later triggered the purchase.

Combination with Shopware Analytics

Shopware Analytics says: 15,000 euros turnover in December, 120 orders. This is the overall balance, the shop status.

Trackboxx says: 8,000 euros from Google Ads at 3,000 euros in advertising costs (ROAS 2.7), 4,000 euros from newsletters at 200 euros in costs (ROAS 20), 3,000 euros organically without advertising costs. That's the breakdown, the marketing perspective.

The overall result: the shop is doing well, but the newsletter is much more economically efficient than Google Ads. The decision could be: Expand the newsletter, check and optimise the Google Ads budget.

For whom is this relevant?

Trackboxx is relevant for shop operators who actively utilise their marketing budget. From around 1,000 euros per month, the question „Does it work?“ becomes an economic necessity. Also for marketing managers who need to prove ROI, or for growth-driven shops that want to scale without blindly burning budget.

If you only have organic traffic and no paid marketing, you don't necessarily need this level. Shopware Analytics is then often sufficient. However, as soon as money flows into campaigns, tracking becomes the basis for sensible decisions.

Conclusion: Use Shopware Analytics correctly - and supplement it properly

Shopware Analytics is important for evaluating shop performance. It reliably shows how sales are developing, which products are being sold and how many orders are being received. This is essential for controlling, reporting and the economic overview.

But it is not enough for marketing decisions. If you want to know which channel is generating sales, which campaign is working and where budget is being used wisely, you need an additional tracking level. This level records origin, links it to conversions and makes ROI measurable.

Trackboxx complements Shopware Analytics at precisely this point. It does not replace the internal shop analyses, but adds the marketing perspective. Shopware shows the status, Trackboxx shows the cause. Both together provide the complete picture.

No „either or“, but „both“. Status: January 2026.

Next steps

If you want to understand which marketing channels actually sell, five steps are useful.

Firstly: Check what data Shopware Analytics currently provides. Take a look at what you already have - turnover, orders, product sales. That is the basis.

Secondly, define your marketing questions. Which channels do you use? Google Ads, Facebook, newsletters, others? What do you want to know? Which channel generates sales, which only generates traffic?

Thirdly: Link origin with sales. Introduce a tracking level that shows where your sales come from. Trackboxx is one option for this.

Fourthly, analyse the initial data. Which channel actually delivered ROI? Where did you invest budget that didn't work?

Fifthly: Make budget decisions based on data. More money in functioning channels, less in inefficient ones. No more gut decisions.

Trackboxx shows you which marketing channels really sell - not just bring traffic. Find out more or test it for free.

Frequently asked questions about Shopware Analytics