PrestaShop

Overview

PrestaShop is an open-source e-commerce platform that powers self-hosted online stores. Written in PHP, PrestaShop provides a complete storefront solution with product management, cart functionality, checkout processing, and order management. Because it is self-hosted and heavily extensible through modules, PrestaShop's cookie and script footprint varies significantly between installations depending on the theme and modules the merchant has deployed.

What This Script Does

PrestaShop's core JavaScript manages shopping cart interactions, product page functionality (image galleries, variant selectors, quantity controls), checkout form validation, and AJAX-powered cart updates. The platform sets several cookies for essential store operations: PrestaShop-* session cookies maintain the server-side session linking visitors to their cart data, while additional cookies store currency preferences, language selections, and recently viewed product lists. The core session cookie persists for the duration of the browsing session, with some preference cookies lasting up to 365 days.

Module Ecosystem

PrestaShop's module ecosystem significantly expands its script footprint. Common modules add Google Analytics tracking, Facebook Pixel integration, newsletter signup popups, and product recommendation widgets. These modules inject their own scripts and cookies alongside PrestaShop's core functionality. The platform's built-in statistics module (statssearch, statsdata) also collects page view and search query data for the merchant's back-office analytics dashboard, setting cookies to track visitor sessions for internal reporting.

Consent & Compliance

PrestaShop core scripts are classified as functional. The cart, checkout, and session management cookies are strictly necessary for e-commerce operations. Under GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, these functional cookies are exempt from consent requirements. However, PrestaShop's built-in statistics module and any installed analytics or marketing modules introduce non-essential data collection that requires consent. PrestaShop has an official GDPR compliance module that helps merchants manage cookie consent, data access requests, and data portability. Under CCPA/CPRA, transactional data processed during checkout falls under business operation exemptions, but analytics and marketing module data must be disclosed.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

No. PrestaShop's core scripts provide essential e-commerce functionality and should not be blocked. The cart, checkout, and session management cookies are strictly necessary for the store to function. However, the built-in statistics module and any third-party analytics or marketing modules installed on the PrestaShop instance should be individually evaluated and blocked until consent is obtained. Site operators should inventory their installed PrestaShop modules and separate functional scripts from tracking scripts in their consent configuration.