Purchase paths
Purchase paths answers one question: which way do buyers go through your store, and which way do visitors who abandon go? Whence computes the most frequent path of each group, finds where the two split, and lists the steps that separate them most.
Find it under Conversion > Purchase paths in Advanced view, or the Issues entry (tab Purchase paths) in Simple view.
This screen is part of the Decide plan. On another plan, the screen reads Purchase paths is part of the Decide plan, with Compare plans. In Simple view it is hidden from the menu, and Home offers an Unlock more with Decide card to people who can change the plan. See Plans and prices.
It also needs the Revenue & orders permission (on top of Session replays), since the whole screen rests on whether a visit ended in a purchase. Without it, the menu entry shows Hidden with a lock.
Step 1: Who counts as a buyer
- Buyers: visits linked to an order.
- Abandoned: visits that viewed a product, a cart or checkout, and did not buy.
A visit counts once it has viewed a product. Your own tools are left out. When there are many visits, the most recent ones are counted, and the note under the screen says how many.
Pick the period at the top: Last 7 days, Last 30 days or Last 90 days. You can also pick a segment.
Step 2: Read the screen
Where they split puts one sentence first, for example: “Both start with Home. Then buyers go to a collection page; visitors who abandon go to a product page.”
Below, two columns, Buyers and Abandoned, show the most frequent paths of each group as a chain: the source first, then page types (Home, Collection, Product, Search, Cart, Checkout, Other page), ending in Purchase or Left, with how many visits took each path.
What separates them lists the steps and sources where the two groups differ most: the share of buyers, the share of those who abandon, and the Difference in points. For example, “Came from Google Ads: 42% of buyers, 18% of those who abandon, +24 pts”.
Use it well
- A step much more frequent among buyers (search, a collection page) is a path worth making easier to find.
- A step frequent among those who abandon, and rare among buyers, is where to watch replays: filter Visits on that page.
- For a step-by-step count along a path you define yourself, use Funnels.
When nothing shows
No purchase or abandoned visit in this period means no visit viewed a product. Pick a longer period, or come back when more visitors have shopped. If orders exist but no visit is a buyer, check that orders reach Whence with Check your setup.