What is the difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics?

GA4 is based on events instead of sessions, offers better cross-device tracking, and is more GDPR-compliant. Universal Analytics was discontinued on July 1, 2023.

Which e-commerce KPIs are most important in GA4?

Conversion Rate, Average Order Value (AOV), Cart Abandonment Rate, Customer Lifetime Value (CLV), Product Performance, Traffic Sources & Attribution, Checkout Funnel Drop-off, and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

How can I create custom dashboards in GA4?

Use the "Explorations" section in GA4 to create custom reports and funnel analyses tailored to your specific business needs.

Is GA4 GDPR compliant?

Yes, GA4 was developed with a stronger focus on data protection and offers features such as IP address anonymization and enhanced data controls to support GDPR compliance.

Lennard Büssow - Digital Marketing & IT Consultant

Why GA4 is different from Universal Analytics

GA4 is based on events instead of sessions. This enables more precise tracking but requires a rethinking of analysis. The most important e-commerce KPIs remain the same – only the measurement changes.

The 8 Most Important E-commerce KPIs in GA4

1. Conversion Rate

The most important metric of all: How many visitors become buyers?

Conversion Rate = (Käufe / Sessions) × 100

Benchmark E-Commerce: 1-3%

2. Average Order Value (AOV)

Average shopping cart value per order.

Identify upselling potential
Optimize cross-selling
Test minimum order value strategies

3. Cart Abandonment Rate

How many users add products to their cart but do not buy?

Typical reasons:

High shipping costs
Complicated checkout
Missing payment methods
No trust (missing trust badges)

4. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

How much revenue does a customer generate over their entire "lifetime"?

In GA4: Monetization → Customer lifetime value Report

5. Product Performance

Which products perform best?

Item views (Produktansichten)
Add to cart rate
Purchase rate
Revenue per item

6. Traffic Sources & Attribution

Where do your most profitable customers come from?

Important Channels:

Organic Search (SEO)
Paid Search (Google Ads)
Social Media
Direct Traffic
Referral

7. Checkout Funnel Drop-off

Where do you lose customers in the checkout process?

In GA4: Explorations → Create funnel exploration with steps: Product View → Add to Cart → Begin Checkout → Purchase

8. Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

How much revenue do you generate per advertising euro spent?

ROAS = Revenue / Ad Spend

Benchmark: 4:1 (4€ revenue per 1€ ad spend)

My GA4 Dashboard Setup

I use custom reports for a quick overview:

Overview Dashboard
Revenue, Transactions, Conversion Rate, AOV (daily)
Traffic Dashboard
Sessions by Source, ROAS by Channel, New vs. Returning
Product Dashboard
Top Products, Category Performance, Stock Alerts
Funnel Dashboard
Checkout Steps, Drop-off Rates, Payment Methods

Conclusion

GA4 offers powerful e-commerce analytics – if you track the right KPIs. Focus on these 8 metrics, create custom dashboards, and derive concrete optimizations. Data without action is worthless.

Google Analytics 4: The Most Important KPIs for E-commerce