Observed Signal · Jan 12, 2023 · Technical Release · Source: OnlineMarketing.de · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
GA4 Adds New E-Commerce Dimensions & Metrics
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) introduces new e-commerce dimensions and metrics via its Data API, enabling item- and event-scoped analysis of shopping activity. New item-related dimensions include item affiliation, item variant, items added to cart, items checked out, items clicked (in lists and promotions), items viewed (in lists and promotions), and item-level shipping and tax amounts. Several e-commerce metrics are renamed, such as Add to carts, item-list click/view events, item views, items purchased, and promotion clicks/views. Examples illustrate analyses like Items purchased by item name and by country. The changes appear primarily on English help pages, with the German page not yet updated. GA4 properties have been the preferred Analytics solution since October 14, 2020, replacing Universal Analytics; migration deadlines for business customers were extended to 2024, while GA4 became Google’s standard in 2023.
Technical release of GA4 ecommerce measurement updates from a major platform (Google) with potential industry-wide impact on analytics and advertising measurement.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- GA4 Data API lists new e-commerce dimensions and metrics including item affiliation, item variant, items added to cart, items checked out, items clicked in list, items clicked in promotion, items viewed, items viewed in list, items viewed in promotion, shipping amount, shipping tier, and tax amount.
- GA4 renames several e-commerce metrics: Add to carts (formerly Add-to-carts); item-list click events (previously item list clicks); item-list view events (previously item list views); item view events (previously item views); items purchased (previously item purchase quantity); promotion clicks (previously item promotion clicks); promotion views (previously item promotion views).
- GA4 properties have been the go-to variant since October 14, 2020; Universal Analytics refers to the previous generation.
- Migration deadlines: business customers had an extended deadline to 2024 to move to GA4; GA4 became the standard for Google in 2023.
- English-language help pages show the changes; the German-language page has not yet reflected the update.
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