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How to debug GA4 for an e-commerce website
Hey, I’ve been trying to whip up this checkout funnel report on an e-commerce website using the explore funnel template. Weirdly enough, the data vanishes as soon as I put in the payment step. But if I leave it out, I can see all the data up to the purchases made. I’m kinda stumped about how to find out where the glitch is, or even if I’ve overlooked something.
Here’s how I’ve been setting up the checkout funnel in explore: start with (event – add_to_cart), follow it indirectly by (event -> checkout), lead it to (event -> shipping_info), add on (payment_info), and wrap up with (event -> purchase).
On asking, my boss suggested I use a debug extension to check if the event is firing correctly. But I’m not quite sure how to go about it ’cause there’s no debugView option in GA4. So…yeah.
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2 Replies
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It sounds like the “payment_info” event might not be firing correctly, causing the data to vanish. You can use a Google Chrome extension called “Google Analytics Debugger” to check this. You’ll see your data in real time in the JavaScript console, not in GA4 unlike previous versions of Google Analytics. This should help you identify if there’s any issue with the “payment_info” event.
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Firstly, don’t worry as this is quite common. The issue may be related to the way data is processed in GA4. To check if the event is firing correctly, you can use Google’s Tag Assistant. Install it on your Chrome browser, enable recording on your site, and perform the actions the same way a user would. When you come to the payment step, the extension will show whether the payment event has been fired successfully. If it’s not firing as expected, you can then fix the issue in the website’s GTM or at the event’s source. Make sure to double-check the event setup in GA4 for mistakes or discrepancies. Finally, remember that it might take a while for the data to show up in GA4. If still the problem persists, contact the GA4 or GTM support for further assistance.
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