Connect your website and apps
We use Surfside’s digital SDK, a small software integration on your website and apps, to capture shopping activity and support measurement. On websites it loads asynchronously, so it doesn’t slow down your pages.
What we need from you: Your website address, the apps you offer, and an introduction to the person or provider who manages them.
What Surfside handles: We provide the setup details, work with your website or app provider on installation and relevant shopping events, and check that tracking is working. We also help coordinate the consent settings needed for your implementation.
What the digital SDK captures
| Signal | What it is | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Page and screen views | Pages and app screens viewed, time spent, and links clicked. | Builds audiences of engaged shoppers and shows how campaign traffic behaves. |
| Ecommerce events | Product views, cart actions, checkouts, and purchases. | Builds intent audiences and measures online purchases after ad exposure. |
| Store location | Which store a shopper is browsing or buying from. | Keeps audiences and results accurate for multi-location businesses. |
| Consent state | Whether the shopper has consented to tracking and identity. | Ensures data is only used where it’s allowed. |
Pages and events we track
The events below are the standard set for every retailer. Your representative will confirm which ones apply to your website and apps.
| Page or event | Priority | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Product detail view | Required | Shows which products shoppers are interested in. The foundation for interest audiences. |
| Add to cart | Required | Marks high intent. Powers cart-based audiences. |
| Remove from cart | Required | Keeps cart audiences accurate. |
| Checkout | Required | Identifies shoppers close to purchase. |
| Purchase | Required | Measures online orders and revenue after ad exposure, and builds buyer audiences. |
| Refund | Optional | Keeps revenue reporting accurate. |
| Product impressions | Optional | Shows which products shoppers see in lists and search. Improves Surfside Ads recommendations and sponsored product reporting. |
If your website or app serves multiple stores, each store needs its own location identifier so online activity ties to the right store. Your representative will confirm how locations are identified.
For your website or app provider
The technical instructions are in the Event Tracking section:
- Implementation guide for installing the SDK and sending ecommerce events.
- Ecommerce event reference for the data each event carries.
- The Surfside analytics tag for how the base snippet works.
Many ecommerce website platforms have a ready-made path:
| Platform | How it’s set up |
|---|---|
| Dutchie | Dutchie guide |
| Jane | Jane guide |
| Shopify | Shopify guide |
| Blaze | Blaze guide |
| AIQ / Dispense | AIQ guide |
| Other platforms | Surfside works directly with the provider. See the platform list. |
Your Surfside representative will help identify the relevant steps.
Have a mobile app? Tell your representative which apps you offer and who builds them. We’ll confirm the right setup for each app with your provider.
If you include Surfside Ads
The digital SDK is also the foundation for Surfside Ads. Your website or app provider adds placements where sponsored products, onsite ads, and recommendations appear, using the Surfside Ads guides. We provide placement details and check that ads serve and track correctly. See Surfside Ads.
Consent
The digital SDK respects your shoppers’ consent choices. If your website or app uses a consent management platform, we coordinate the SDK with it so tracking and identity only run where consent allows. If you don’t have one, your representative will help determine what your regions require.
For the technical details, see How consent works in Surfside.
How we validate
Surfside checks the implementation before launch:
- Events fire on the right pages with a product identifier or name.
- Purchases include a transaction identifier and revenue.
- Store location is set correctly for multi-location businesses.
- Consent signals are read correctly where they apply.
On websites, your provider can use the Surfside Inspector Chrome extension to see events as they’re sent and confirm required attributes are present.
What’s next