New Google Analytics reports focused on e-commerce could help merchants identify issues with shopping journeys and the checkout process.
Google Analytics 4 purchasing journey report shows the funnel from the moment a potential customer starts a web session until purchase. And the most recent payment journey report displays the payment funnel in four detailed steps.
Both reports show where buyers are abandoning the purchasing journey. The data could identify issues in a store’s navigation or flag opportunities for testing or optimization.
Payment Journey Report
Found under Reports > Monetization In GA4, the Checkout Journey report shows the number and percentage of users who start the checkout process on an ecommerce site or app and then complete each subsequent step.
![Screenshot of a GA4 payment journey report. Screenshot of a GA4 payment journey report.](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/100723-checkout-journey-overview-570x298.png)
GA4 introduced the Payment Journey Report in September 2023. Click on the image to enlarge.
It uses a closed funnel method, focusing only on buyers who started at the “Start Checkout” stage.
The report can identify bottlenecks or issues in the payment flow. For example, a business with a massive deposit after the shipping stage could have a technical or pricing issue with the available delivery options.
Payment steps
For the Checkout Journey report, data is collected from four GA4 events.
- start_checkout for the “Start payment” step.
- add_shipping_info for the “Add Shipping” step.
- add_payment_info for the “Add a payment” step.
- purchase for the “Purchase” step.
Merchants will add these events to the payment flow. Google offers implementation instructions for desktop computer And mobile devices to ensure that the appropriate GA4 event is specified at each payment step.
gtag("event", "begin_checkout", {...
Box dimensions
When loading its report, the checkout journey will display the flow by “device category”, i.e. mobile or desktop. But the report can also include other dimensions. Here is the full list:
- Device category,
- Country,
- Region,
- City,
- Language,
- Age,
- Gender,
- Navigator.
This way, marketers can detect payment issues for a specific group of buyers.
![Screenshot of a table in a payment journey report Screenshot of a table in a payment journey report](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/100723-checkout-devices-570x325.png)
The Payment Journey Report table is initially divided by device category, but other dimensions are available. Click on the image to enlarge.
Buying Journey Report
The GA4 Purchase Journey Report provides insights into buyer abandonment at each stage of the funnel, although with less detail at checkout. Both reports can work together to identify optimization opportunities.
The Purchase Journey Report can be found in GA4 at Reports > Monetization.
![Purchase Journey Report Screenshot Purchase Journey Report Screenshot](https://www.practicalecommerce.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/100723-purchase-journey-570x258.png)
The Purchase Journey report shows buyer actions from the start of the session to purchase, although the Checkout Journeys report is more detailed. Click on the image to enlarge.
Purchase steps
The Purchase Journey Report brings together data from five GA4 events:
- session_start marks the start of a session.
- Look at the object is triggered when a product is viewed.
- Add to Cart is triggered when an item is added to the cart.
- start_checkout for the “Start payment” step.
- purchase Or in_app_purchase for the “Purchase” step.
Like the Checkout Journey Report, GA4 events to collect purchase journey data will need to be set up and added to the appropriate pages on an e-commerce site.
Some ecommerce platforms include some or most of these events in their GA4 integration. For example, Shopify’s GA4 integration automatically adds the Look at the object, Add to Cart, purchaseand several other events.
Purchase dimensions
As of October 2023, the Purchase Journey Report had the following analytical dimensions, two fewer (age and gender) than the Payment Journey Report:
- Device category,
- Country,
- Region,
- City,
- Language,
- Navigator.
Using reports
The reports and funnels described here are only useful if e-marketers use them to optimize the buyer’s journey. Here is an example.
Monitor the funnel. Start by looking at the funnel, paying attention to how promotions, days of the week, or holidays impact the buyer journey.
Find repositories. Any point in the purchase or payment funnel where buyers deposit is a potential problem or opportunity.
Investigate. Examine the drop-off points and hypothesize about the underlying cause. For example, many buyers leaving at the shipping stage might indicate that the cost is too high relative to the average order value.
Take action. Address the potential cause of abandonment and implement a solution. This could be a test add_shipping_info step that reduces shipping costs.
Watch and iterate. Did the test work? Are more buyers reaching the next stage? Measure results. If the decline continues, develop a new hypothesis and solution.
Continue to optimize. Include buyer journey optimization as a routine marketing activity.
Can’t find the reports?
Add purchase journeys and checkout journeys from the reporting library if they don’t appear under Reports > Monetization.