Enhanced E-commerce is gone — GA4 e-commerce events replaced it. Here's what to track and why it matters for your ad spend.
If you remember "Enhanced E-commerce" from Universal Analytics, its successor is GA4's e-commerce events. Set up properly, they show exactly where shoppers drop off and which campaigns actually produce revenue.
The events that matter
- view_item_list and view_item — which products get seen.
- add_to_cart and begin_checkout — where intent shows up.
- add_payment_info — how many reach the payment step.
- purchase — revenue, tax, shipping and items, tied to the traffic source.
What you learn from them
With these events in place you can see your full funnel: if lots of people add to cart but few begin checkout, shipping costs or a forced sign-up may be the problem. If checkout starts but payments fail, it's time to look at your gateway.
Why it matters for ads
Google Ads and Meta optimise toward the conversions you send them. Accurate purchase data means their algorithms find more buyers rather than more clickers — often the single biggest improvement to return on ad spend.
Common mistakes
- Purchases tracked twice when customers refresh the thank-you page.
- Revenue sent without tax and shipping separated.
- Consent banners blocking analytics without consent mode configured.
We set up and audit GA4 e-commerce tracking as part of our digital marketing services.
