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GA4 purchase event is duplicated on first purchase only
Can you guide me on resolving an issue related to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on my WordPress website? I noticed that the purchase event is being triggered twice for the first purchase by the same user, despite using the gtag test script for sending the event. The peculiar bit is that for subsequent purchases by the same user, the event is triggered only once, which is as expected.
For your reference, I’ve observed something odd about the ga_session_id and ga_session_number – they appear twice for the first purchase. In contrast, other parameters such as currency and page_title appear only once.
Here are some steps I took: testing with a custom script without any GTM involvement, inspecting for duplicate gtag scripts in the website’s source code, and even disabling all plugins and switching to the default WordPress theme. Unfortunately, none of these steps has helped.
What I am seeking are suggestions that might help resolve this issue to ensure that the GA4 purchase event is triggered only once for all purchases, irrespective of whether they are the user’s first purchase or subsequent ones. Could you possibly help with this issue?
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2 Replies
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Based on your observations, the issue with the purchase event being triggered twice appears to be linked to the ga_session_id and ga_session_number. This anomaly is quite unusual and it’s clear you’ve been thorough in your efforts to resolve it. Since altering the site’s theme, disabling plugins, and checking the gtag scripts didn’t help, we might need to take a different approach. Firstly, ensure the GA4 configuration event is not being replayed for first-time users, as this might also trigger a purchase event. Secondly, check the setup in your ecommerce platform for Google Analytics 4 integration or tracking to ensure there’s no redundancy. A misconfiguration or duplicate setup might result in generating duplicate events for first-time purchases. Finally, seek expert guidance from a GA4 specialist or from the Google support centre. They might be able to diagnose the cause more accurately and suggest precise steps to address the issue.
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Given the steps you have already taken, this appears to be a very peculiar code issue. You might want to pay attention to how your gtag script associates the purchase event with a user’s session. If the identical ga_session_id and ga_session_number are translating to duplicate events on the first purchase, they may be being duplicated due to session initialization. Consider examining the implementation of your events and session control on your website. Make sure your purchase event isn’t being fired automatically on session start. If it’s not being properly controlled, it could inadvertently fire twice on the first purchase of a new user session. Enhanced e-commerce settings might also be contributing to this issue. Checking how those are set up might also give you more insight. Moreover, consider enlisting the help of a developer skilled in GA4 implementation if the problem persists. They’d be better equipped to sniff out any underlying code errors.
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