With Universal Analytics gone, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has taken center stage—and it’s powerful, especially for eCommerce brands. If you're still treating GA4 like the old analytics platform, you're missing out on deep insights that can transform your product strategy.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to unlock product-level performance using GA4’s custom dimensions, track product views accurately, and spot checkout drop-offs that are hurting your bottom line.
1. Track What Actually Matters: Product-Level Metrics
GA4 doesn't rely on the same structure as Universal Analytics. It uses an event-based model, which means you get more flexibility and more detail—but only if you configure it correctly.
To truly understand how your products are performing, you need to go beyond basic pageviews or sessions. Start with:
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Item Views (
view_item): See how often individual product pages are being viewed. -
Add to Cart (
add_to_cart): Find out which products spark interest and lead to action. -
Purchase (
purchase): Identify top-selling products and underperformers.
Use GA4’s Explorations to visualize user behavior around specific products and uncover trends like high view counts with low conversions.
2. Use Custom Dimensions for Deep Product Insights
Want to know which colors, sizes, or collections perform best? Set up custom dimensions to capture these product attributes in GA4.
For example:
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Color (e.g., Red, Blue, Black)
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Product Category (e.g., Summer Collection, Clearance)
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Size (e.g., Small, Medium, Large)
Once set up via Google Tag Manager or directly in your data layer, these custom dimensions can reveal how different variations of your products perform—perfect for A/B testing, inventory planning, or ad targeting.
3. Analyze Checkout Drop-Offs in Detail
Every abandoned cart is a lost opportunity. In GA4, use the Funnel Exploration report to visualize where users are dropping off in the purchase journey.
Track each step:
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View product
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Add to cart
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Begin checkout
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Add payment info
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Complete purchase
If drop-offs are high at a certain step, you’ve found your bottleneck. Maybe your shipping cost is too high or your checkout page is too slow on mobile. GA4 helps you spot it early so you can act fast.
4. Bonus Tip: Link GA4 to Google Ads and Optimize Campaigns
Integrating GA4 with Google Ads means you can track which campaigns and keywords are driving real sales—not just clicks. This helps you optimize your budget around what’s converting.
Final Thoughts
GA4 might seem complex at first, but once it’s set up correctly, it becomes your eCommerce command center. From custom dimensions to detailed funnel analysis, it gives you the clarity to make smarter decisions, faster.
Master GA4 now—and turn data into dollars.
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