Consent Mode v2 in OpenCart: what Google requires and how to set it up

Since March 2024 Google requires websites that advertise to, or measure, visitors from the European Economic Area to send consent signals through Consent Mode v2. Without them, remarketing and part of the conversion measurement in Google Ads stop working for EU visitors. Here is what that means for an OpenCart store.

What Consent Mode v2 is

Consent Mode is how a website tells Google's tags what the visitor allowed. Version 2 has four main signals:

• analytics_storage – cookies for statistics (Google Analytics);
• ad_storage – cookies for advertising;
• ad_user_data – whether user data may be sent to Google for advertising;
• ad_personalization – whether personalised ads (remarketing) may be shown.

The last two are new in version 2, and they are exactly what most older banners are missing.

How it should work

1. Defaults before anything else. At the very top of the page, before Google Analytics, Google Ads or Google Tag Manager, every signal is set to denied.
2. The banner asks the visitor. On "Accept" or a choice by category, an update with granted is sent for what was allowed.
3. The choice is remembered and sent right away on the next visit, without showing the banner again.

Basic or advanced mode

In basic mode Google's tags do not load at all until the visitor accepts. In advanced mode they load but, without cookies, send only anonymous pings that Google uses to model missed conversions. Advanced mode gives fuller reports; basic mode is more conservative. Both meet Google's requirements – the choice is yours.

What the banner itself needs

Consent Mode does not replace the banner – it only passes the choice on. To comply with the GDPR and the guidance of the European Data Protection Board:

• "Reject" must be as visible and easy as "Accept";
• categories may not be pre-ticked;
• visitors must be able to change their choice at any time;
• keep a record of when and what was accepted – it is your proof if anyone asks.

Facebook Pixel, TikTok, Microsoft Clarity and similar scripts have no Consent Mode, so they must simply not load before consent.

How to check

Open Google Tag Assistant, connect to your site and look at the Consent tab. You should see a default with denied before the first tag and an update after the choice in the banner. In Google Ads, under Goals, the Consent Mode status is shown for each conversion.

In OpenCart with OCMasters modules

OCMasters GDPR & Cookie Consent adds a banner with per-category choice, Consent Mode v2 defaults before the tags, script blocking until consent and a record of every consent. OCMasters Complete Marketing sends e-commerce events to GA4, Google Ads, Meta and TikTok and uses the same consent, so visitors see one banner.