An online store can have plenty of visitors and still not sell. Conversion tracking shows you where shoppers drop off, from product page to cart to checkout to payment, and which marketing channels bring buyers rather than browsers.
The events that matter
Google Analytics 4 defines a standard set of e-commerce events. The core ones are:
| Event | When it fires |
|---|---|
view_item |
A product page is viewed |
add_to_cart |
A product is added to the cart |
begin_checkout |
Checkout is started |
add_payment_info |
A payment method is chosen |
purchase |
An order is completed, with value and currency |
Each event should carry product details (ID, name, price, quantity) and the purchase event should include order value, currency (KES) and a unique transaction ID so it is never counted twice.
Watch the payment step
With M-Pesa, customers often confirm payment on their phone after leaving the checkout page. Make sure the purchase is recorded when payment is confirmed, not just when the order is created, or your data will include unpaid orders.
Connect ads to sales
Import purchase conversions into Google Ads and send the equivalent events to Meta so each platform can optimise for buyers. Use consistent UTM tags on every campaign link.
Respect consent
Use a consent banner and Google Consent Mode so analytics and advertising cookies are only set when visitors agree.
Read the funnel
- Many product views, few add-to-carts: check product pages, pricing and photos.
- Many carts, few checkouts: look at delivery costs and surprises.
- Many checkouts, few purchases: test the payment flow on a phone.
Verify, then trust
Place test orders, check each event arrives with the right values, and re-check after any change to the store. Tracking that silently breaks is worse than none.
We set up e-commerce tracking as part of every store we build. See our analytics services.