eCommerce Tracking Done Right

Most eCommerce stores track purchases. The best ones track everything that leads to purchases. There's a massive difference between 'we have Google Analytics installed' and proper eCommerce tracking that actually drives better marketing decisions and higher revenue. Here's what you should be capturing—and why it matters.

Product Interactions & Discovery

What to track: Product views (which products get attention), Product list views (how users browse categories), Internal search queries (what customers are looking for), Filter and sort usage (how people narrow options), Quick view and zoom interactions.

Why it matters: This data reveals which products generate interest, what customers can't find, and where your catalog has gaps. You can optimize merchandising, adjust ad creative to feature high-interest products, and create retargeting audiences based on specific product interactions.

Shopping Cart Behavior

What to track: Add to cart events (with product details, price, quantity), Remove from cart events (what people change their mind about), Cart page views, Cart value at each stage, Coupon code applications.

Why it matters: Cart abandonment is where money goes to die. Tracking these events lets you build precise cart abandonment flows, understand which products or price points cause hesitation, and create dynamic retargeting showing exactly what someone left behind. This data also feeds into Meta CAPI and Google Enhanced Conversions for better campaign optimization.

Checkout Process

What to track: Each checkout step (shipping info, payment info, review), Time spent at each stage, Checkout errors and validation issues, Payment method selected, Shipping method selected, Guest vs. returning customer checkout.

Why it matters: Checkout drop-off is brutal. Tracking each step shows you exactly where you're losing customers. Maybe everyone bounces at shipping costs. Maybe payment info validation is broken on mobile. You can't fix what you can't see. This granular tracking also enables checkout abandonment campaigns targeting users who started but didn't complete checkout.

Why Most eCommerce Stores Get This Wrong:

They install GA4, set up basic purchase tracking, and call it done. Here's what that misses: No visibility into why 70% of cart additions don't become purchases. No data on which products generate interest but don't convert (pricing issue? Description issue?). No ability to create sophisticated audience segments based on shopping behavior. No dynamic remarketing showing relevant products. Incomplete data feeding into Conversion APIs, leaving money on the table.

What Proper eCommerce Tracking Unlocks:

• Precise cart and checkout abandonment campaigns that actually recover revenue.
• Product-specific retargeting with the exact items someone viewed.
• Better ad platform optimization based on product-level conversion data.
• Clear visibility into your most and least profitable products by traffic source.
• Understanding of the complete customer journey from first visit to repeat purchase.
• Data-driven merchandising decisions (which products to feature, promote, or discontinue).

The Bottom Line: Basic purchase tracking tells you what happened. Proper eCommerce tracking tells you why it happened and what to do about it. The difference between the two is typically 20-40% higher revenue from the same traffic—through better optimization, more effective remarketing, and smarter business decisions based on complete data.