PrestaShop analytics without a cookie banner in France
Updated November 3, 2026
On a PrestaShop shop in France, statistics often go through Google Analytics 4, with the official module or with PrestaShop Metrics, the dashboard that syncs with GA4. GA4 sets cookies and cannot use the CNIL exemption, so it only loads after a click on "Accept". Visitors who decline or ignore the banner disappear from the numbers, and with them part of the carts and orders.
The options
| GA4 (official module or Metrics) | PrestaShop's built-in statistics | Exempt tool (Statsdot in CNIL mode) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consent needed | Yes | Depends on the setup | No, if the CNIL criteria are met |
| Visitors who decline the banner | Missing or modelled | Counted | Counted |
| Traffic sources | Yes | Referrers | Referring sites |
| Campaigns (UTM) | Yes | No | No |
| Carts and orders | Yes | Yes | Yes, as events |
| Revenue per source | Yes | Limited | No |
The built-in statistics (the Statistics modules, including "Data mining for statistics") record connections in the shop's database, with the IP address shown in the visitors online report. That is personal data kept on your side, and these modules have a reputation for unreliable traffic sources.
What an exempt tool measures
With the Statsdot module for PrestaShop (versions 1.7, 8 and 9) and the CNIL exemption mode on, you see:
- visitors, pageviews, entry and exit pages, across all traffic;
- the sites that send visitors (search engines, social networks, AI assistants, price comparison sites);
- countries, devices and browsers;
- the "Add to cart" and "Purchase" events the module sends, with goals and a product page, cart, order funnel to see where buyers drop out.
Every number is rounded to the nearest ten so that no row singles out a visitor. On a small shop, look at the week or the month rather than the day.
What still needs consent
For the CNIL, measuring the performance of acquisition channels or ad campaigns is marketing. In the CNIL mode Statsdot therefore stores neither UTM tags nor order amounts, and revenue per source disappears. If you need it, you need consent, as with GA4.
That is why many shops combine the two: an exempt tool for traffic and conversions, which sees everyone, and the advertising tools (Google Ads, Meta pixel) behind the banner to run campaigns.
So, the banner?
The CNIL mode only covers audience measurement. The banner is still needed if the shop loads other trackers: advertising pixels, review or chat widgets, embedded videos, retargeting tools. Cart and session cookies make the shop work and need no consent.
To take stock, run your home page through our free site check: it lists the trackers, the consent tool and the cookies the page sets. It reads the static HTML, so check product pages and the checkout too.
Setting it up
- Install the module and check the domain (installation guide).
- Turn on the CNIL exemption mode in the site settings, section General.
- Add the opt-out button and the audience measurement text to your privacy policy (template in the CNIL mode guide).
- Create the goals "Add to cart" and "Purchase" and a funnel.
- If GA4 stays for advertising, leave it behind the banner.
WooCommerce is covered in WooCommerce analytics without cookies.