What "7-day click attribution" actually counts
When someone clicks your Facebook ad, Meta starts a seven-day timer. If that person buys anything on your store within those seven days, Meta counts the sale as a conversion its ad drove — even if they clicked five other ads, searched your brand, and came back through Google before checking out.
This is the click half of Meta's default 7-day click / 1-day view setting. The current default is confirmed across the field (Foreplay, 2025; Jon Loomer). The longer 28-day click and 28-day view windows were removed after Apple's iOS 14 privacy changes, so seven days is now the widest click window you get.
The setting does two jobs at once. It decides which conversions Meta reports as your headline number, and it tells Meta's delivery system which people to chase — those likely to convert inside the window. Widen or narrow it and both your reported results and your optimization target shift.
Click window vs. view window — the two halves
Most guides stop at "7-day click, 1-day view" without explaining why the two numbers differ. They measure completely different behavior.
- 7-day click: the buyer clicked the ad, then bought within a week.
- 1-day view: the buyer only saw the ad — never clicked — and bought within 24 hours.
The click window is the conservative half. It's closest to how Shopify assigns credit, because Shopify also needs a real click (a referrer) to attribute a sale. The view window is where the inflation lives, and it deserves its own treatment — we cover it in depth in what view-through conversions on Facebook actually mean.
Why 7-day click inflates your Shopify numbers
Here's the part every ranking article skips: even a click-only window overcounts against Shopify, and it does so for structural reasons no tracking fix will close.
Click-date reporting. Meta reports a conversion on the date of the click that earned credit, not the date of the purchase. A Monday click that converts Thursday shows up in Meta on Monday and in Shopify on Thursday. Compare single days and your numbers will never line up — always compare on trailing seven-to-fourteen-day windows.
Cross-device stitching. Meta recognizes logged-in users across their phone and laptop. Someone who clicks on mobile and buys on desktop is still credited to your ad. Shopify's last-click model ties that same order to whatever referrer landed on the buying device — often "direct" or "organic."
Modeled conversions. When iOS opt-outs or ad blockers hide a real buyer, Meta estimates the conversion statistically and reports the estimate. Shopify never models — it only records completed checkouts. We break down how those estimates work in Meta modeled conversions explained, and how the underlying signal loss started in iOS tracking loss on Facebook ads.
Add the view-through half on top and the gap grows. A 20 to 35 percent gap between Meta-reported purchases and Shopify orders on the default window is considered normal, and the excess is mostly view-through plus modeling (Vaizle; TrackBee).
A worked example: one week, four different "sales" numbers
Say you run a print-on-demand mug store and drive Meta ads for one week. Assume, for this example, an average order of $40 subtotal plus $5 shipping and $4 tax, for $49 total per order. Suppose 100 real orders come in. Of those buyers:
- 55 clicked a Meta ad within 7 days before buying.
- 15 only saw a Meta ad (no click) within 1 day before buying.
- 10 clicked a Google ad last.
- 20 arrived via organic search or direct.
- 8 later request refunds.
Meta Ads Manager reports about 78 purchases. That's 55 click-through plus 15 view-through (70 by window), plus roughly 8 modeled conversions recovering buyers it couldn't observe. It files them on the click date, so about a dozen land in the prior reporting week. It does not subtract the 8 refunds. Its revenue reads at the $40 subtotal the pixel passes: 78 × $40 = $3,120.
Shopify Analytics reports 100 orders. Last-click credits roughly 55 to Facebook, 10 to Google, and 35 to search, direct, or other. The 15 view-through buyers are not credited to Facebook here — they clicked nothing, so Shopify files them under their real last referrer. Total sales run 100 × $49 = $4,900, dropping to about $4,508 after the 8 refunds.
The bank payout is different again. Take the captured charges and subtract fees and refunds. Shopify Payments charges roughly 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction on the Basic plan for US cards (Webgility), and about $15 per chargeback dispute (Webgility):
100 orders × $49 = $4,900.00 captured − fees (2.9% × $4,900 = $142.10, plus $0.30 × 100 = $30.00) = −$172.10 − refunds (8 × $49) = −$392.00 − 1 chargeback fee = −$15.00 = $4,320.90 deposited
Four numbers — 78 purchases, 100 orders, $4,508 in total sales, $4,320.90 in the bank — for one week of activity. None is wrong. Meta answers "how many sales did my ads plausibly influence?" Shopify answers "how many sales happened and for how much?" The payout answers "what actually hit my account?"
Which attribution setting should you use?
For most POD and DTC stores, keeping the default 7-day click / 1-day view is the reasonable starting point — it's what Meta optimizes toward, and switching windows only re-slices already-recorded data, it doesn't retrain the campaign.
If you want a number that tracks closer to Shopify, view your results on 1-day click. Switching a campaign from 7-day click / 1-day view down to 1-day click can cut reported conversions by roughly 40 percent — the same real sales, credited through a narrower window (TrackBee). That's not lost revenue; it's a tighter definition of credit.
The deeper point: no single window gives you truth. Truth is per-order profit, and that only exists when you tie Meta's spend to Shopify's real orders and net out fees, refunds, and product cost. That reconciliation is the whole subject of reconciling your ecommerce data, and if you're comparing platforms to standardize on one credit model, the attribution modeling tools guide walks the options.
Where PodVector fits
Reading the gap is one thing; acting on it is another. PodVector connects Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, Printify, and Printful, then computes your true per-order profit — so the seven-day-click number in Ads Manager stops being the figure your decisions ride on.
Victor, PodVector's AI operator, analyzes that reconciled data and proposes moves. He reads your ad data but does not touch your ad account — the actions he takes, with your approval, are Shopify-side. He's not a dashboard; he's an operator working from live data. Connect your stack and see your real per-order profit.
FAQs
What does 7-day click attribution mean on Facebook?
It means Meta credits its ad for any purchase a person makes within seven days of clicking that ad. Seven days is the lookback window; if the sale falls inside it, Meta counts the conversion. It's the click half of Meta's default 7-day click / 1-day view setting.
Why does Facebook show more purchases than Shopify?
Because they measure different things. Meta counts view-through conversions, modeled conversions, and cross-device buyers, and it reports on the click date rather than the purchase date. Shopify only records completed orders on the day they happen, credited last-click. A 20 to 35 percent gap on the default window is normal (Vaizle).
Is 7-day click better than 1-day click?
Neither is objectively better — they answer different questions. The 7-day click window captures longer consideration cycles and gives Meta's algorithm more conversion signal, which helps delivery. The 1-day click window is tighter and tracks closer to Shopify. Many merchants optimize on 7-day click but sanity-check results on 1-day click.
Does changing the attribution window change my actual sales?
No. The window only changes how conversions are credited and displayed. Your real orders, revenue, and bank deposits are unaffected. Switching from 7-day to 1-day click can drop reported conversions by around 40 percent without a single real sale being lost (TrackBee).
Will setting up the Conversions API make Meta and Shopify match?
No. The Conversions API recovers events lost to ad blockers and browser restrictions, but it does nothing about view-through credit, modeling, click-date reporting, or last-click versus window differences. Even with flawless tracking, a structural gap remains — the fix is reconciliation, not more plumbing.
How should I compare Meta and Shopify numbers?
Never compare single days — click-date reporting desynchronizes them. Compare totals over trailing 7-to-14-day windows, expect Meta to run 20 to 35 percent higher on the default setting, and treat Shopify's order count and total sales as your source of truth for what actually happened.