#030: Insights_ Moving from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4: What’s in it for eCommerce
Released in October 2020, Google Analytics 4 is Google’s newest generation of analytics and tracking software. Standard Universal Analytics properties will no longer process data on July 1, 2023. After July 1, 2023, you’ll be able to read your Universal Analytics reports for a period of time; however,?new data will only be sent to Google Analytics 4 properties.
Google’s latest iteration of Analytics, referring to GA4, is a “new sort of property” that enables more tracking and reporting options. It gives you a complete view of how users interact with your brand across platforms and devices. One of the significant differences between GA4 and its predecessor UA (Universal Analytics) is the ability to utilize it not only for a website but also for an app, or both at the same time, allowing for tracking possibilities that have never been seen before.
What is the difference between Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics?
While GA Universal focuses on pages, GA4 is very different. Instead of focusing on page views, GA4 employs an entirely new sort of event-based measurement. It keeps track of individual page elements’ performance and relative contribution, including variants. GA4 allows you to assess a user’s experience rather than a proxy, giving you a complete view of their behavior and removing blind spots as you track them across your entire website.
Can we use both Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics?
Starting from July 1, 2023, the standard Universal Analytics properties will stop processing data. However, you will still have access to your previously processed data in your Universal Analytics property for a minimum of six months. Consequently, it will not be possible to simultaneously utilize both Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics after this date.
What are the features of Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 brings new and advanced features to better support businesses. Here are some of the platform’s benefits:
The relationship between Google Analytics 4 and eCommerce
As Google Analytics 4 is still in its early stage, you can expect a lot more competitive features in the future. Anyone switching from Universal Analytics to a GA4 property type will probably experience some growing pains.
eCommerce?reports and features differ from Universal Analytics in a number of ways, as they do in many other areas of GA4. eCommerce tracking has been modified within GA4; however, it still lacks some functionalities that are accessible in Universal Analytics.
Google Analytics 4 use cases for eCommerce
Use Case #1: Google Analytics eCommerce tracking
You can compare real sales data with other website metrics like traffic source or medium using GA4Google Analytics eCommerce tracking. So you can understand how well your web pages are performing and your average return on investment (ROI) from marketing campaigns. In addition, it provides you with a whole eCommerce report. This report gives you a detailed overview of user behavior on your website or app. You’ll be able to utilize the information later to improve your business.
Here are some use cases of GA4 eCommerce tracking:
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eCommerce conversion rate:?Find out what percentage of your visitors made a purchase. Conversions could be someone filling out your contact form, signing up for your newsletter, or purchasing anything.
Shopping cart abandonment:?With Google Analytics enhanced eCommerce tracking, you can now track your shop cart abandonment rate. It shows you the percentage of customers who abandon their shopping cart before making a transaction.
Use Case #2: Customer retention rate
The retention report can help you understand how often and how long users return to your website or mobile app after their first visit. It also helps determine the value of users based on the additional revenue generated after their first visit.
Use Case #3: Custom funnels
GA4 allows you to create funnels to track each step of the customer journey. As a result, it will be easier to track the traffic to your website and the behavior of potential customers. With GA4, you can easily create a funnel using a combination of events or pageviews, filtered by any event property and intelligent features like elapsed time measurement.
Use Case #4: Optimize content based on user engagement
The average engagement time indicator in Google Analytics 4 calculates the amount of time (in seconds) consumers spent interacting with your website (scrolling, clicking, browsing, etc.).
Use Case #5: Effectively retarget high-intent customers
With GA4, you can use predictive remarketing to target your customers in a smart and simple way. Furthermore, based on user behavior, you can establish custom audiences. Use predictive audiences like ‘Users who are likely to buy in the next 7 days or ‘Users who are likely to buy for the first time in the next 7 days, and so on. GA4’s machine learning capabilities automatically build predictive audiences.