Impact of Google Consent Mode v2 on GA4 Transaction Tracking in WooCommerce

• If you use Basic Consent Mode, transactions from users who decline consent are not recorded in GA4.
• If you use Advanced Consent Mode, transactions from users who decline consent may still appear in GA4 as modeled data, as long as the GA4 property meets Google’s requirements for behavioral modeling.

This article explains what changed with Consent Mode v2 and what to review in a WordPress and WooCommerce setup.

1. Introduction

This article answers a common question: will GA4 track a WooCommerce purchase if the user declines consent in a CookieYes banner?

The setup here is:

• WordPress site
• WooCommerce
• GTM4WP plugin feeding events into Google Tag Manager (GTM)
• GA4 implemented via GTM
• Consent handled via CookieYes v2 with Google Consent Mode v2

The key factor is how Consent Mode v2 is implemented.

2. Google Consent Mode v2: Basic vs Advanced

The biggest driver of what GA4 can collect is which Consent Mode type is active.

Feature	Basic Consent Mode	Advanced Consent Mode
Tag behavior	Google tags stay blocked until consent is granted	Google tags load before the consent banner appears
Data sent when consent is denied	No data is sent	Cookieless pings can still be sent
Behavioral modeling	Not possible	Possible if GA4 is eligible

If your setup is Basic, GA4 will not count purchases from users who decline consent.

If your setup is Advanced, GA4 can receive limited cookieless signals. That can support modeling.

3. Behavioral Modeling in GA4

With Advanced Consent Mode, GA4 can estimate activity for users who denied consent. This is not direct tracking. It is an estimate based on patterns from users who did consent.

For purchases, that means:

• The purchase event is not captured the same way as a normal consented event
• GA4 can still estimate that a transaction likely happened
• The reporting identity must support showing modeled data

GA4 eligibility rules

Google lists strict requirements for enabling behavioral modeling for Consent Mode:

• Consent mode is enabled across all pages
• Tags load before the consent dialog and fire in all cases (advanced setup)
• At least 1,000 events per day with analytics_storage='denied' for at least 7 days
• At least 1,000 daily users with analytics_storage='granted' for at least 7 of the last 28 days
• Reporting identity is set to Blended

Even if you meet the thresholds, modeling is not guaranteed. And once eligible, it can take time before you see modeled data.

4. What This Means for WooCommerce Transaction Tracking

Here's how the tools in this stack affect what GA4 sees when consent is declined.

CookieYes

CookieYes sets and sends the consent state.

To allow modeled transactions, CookieYes needs:

• Advanced Consent Mode enabled
• Tag loading before the banner
• Correct consent updates for analytics_storage (and other consent types, if used)

If Advanced mode is not enabled, you are in Basic mode and GA4 won't count purchases from users who decline.

GTM4WP

GTM4WP pushes WooCommerce events and helps connect WordPress to GTM.

A known issue in some setups is timing:

• WooCommerce events can fire before the consent state updates
• That can cause mismatched consent signals
• It can lead to missing purchases or "Unassigned" attribution in GA4

This is a setup problem, not a GA4 problem. It usually shows up as inconsistent reporting.

GTM and GA4

In an Advanced Consent Mode setup, GA4 tags can still send cookieless pings when consent is denied.

These can include purchase data like:

• transaction ID
• value / revenue
• currency

But they do not include identifiers that normally support user-based reporting or full attribution.

5. Limits and Tradeoffs

Even in a best-case Advanced setup, there are real limits.

• Modeled, not observed: the number is an estimate
• Attribution is limited: you won't get clean source/medium for denied-consent users
• Not in BigQuery export: modeled data is not exported
• Some GA4 features won't use it: audiences and some exploration/segment features do not support modeled data

So yes, you might get a closer view of totals. But you lose detail and certainty.

6. Recommendations

Here's what to check and improve.

1. Verify CookieYes settings
   Confirm whether Advanced Consent Mode is enabled.
2. Review GTM4WP consent handling
   Make sure it passes consent states correctly and on time.
3. Check GA4 modeling eligibility
   Look in GA4 admin settings to confirm whether behavioral modeling is active or eligible.
4. Set reporting identity to Blended
   Without this, you may not see modeled data even if it exists.
5. Consider server-side tagging
   If you need more stable purchase measurement and better control, server-side tagging is worth considering.

7. Conclusion

GA4 transaction tracking after consent is declined is not a simple yes or no.

• With Basic Consent Mode, purchases from denied-consent users are not counted.
• With Advanced Consent Mode, GA4 may count purchases as modeled data, but only if your GA4 property qualifies and is configured to show it.

The only way to know how your site behaves is to verify your Consent Mode type, your CookieYes + GTM wiring, and your GA4 modeling status.

References

1. Ahava, S. (2021-05-28). Consent Mode V2 For Google Tags. Simo Ahava's blog.
2. Google. (n.d.). [GA4] Behavioral modeling for consent mode. Analytics Help.
3. CookieYes. (n.d.). Basic vs Advanced Google Consent Mode. CookieYes Blog.
4. WordPress.org Forums. (2024-03-25). Woocommerce events load before cookie consent update state.
5. Napkyn. (n.d.). Impact of Consent Mode on Reporting and Transaction Data in GA4.