Overview

As of June 2024, the Google Sales Channel in Shopify allows you to enable a GA4 Tracking Integration.

For an optimized GA4 integration with Shopify, Elevar's Server-Side GA4 integration ensures 99%+ order accuracy by sending purchase events server-side, tracks comprehensive data including product lists, upsells, and shopping behavior rates, and provides customization options for order and product identifiers. Additionally, Elevar passes user identifiers for better data attribution and can be implemented on non-Shopify pages.

Step 2 screenshot

Full Comparison Chart: (Last Updated on June 7th 2024)

Event Data	Elevar	Google Sales Channel
vistor_type parameter	Yes	No
Product list tracking	Yes	No
ecomm_prodid, ecomm_totalvalue, ecomm_pagetype parameters	No, but can be added via GTM	Yes, on view_item, add_to_cart, and begin_checkout events (totalvalue NaN on PDP)
Product id sent	Customizable - sku, product id, or variant id	Shopify id only
Product name sent	Parent	Parent - variant (begin_checkout event only sends parent)
Sends additional product IDs	Yes	No
Data on checkout without checkout.liquid	Yes	Yes
add_shipping_info	Yes	No
add_payment_info	Includes product data	No product data included
Server side purchase	Yes	No
Transaction ID	Customizable - Order Name, Order Number, or Order ID	Order ID
Transaction value	Customizable - Grand Total, Subtotal, or Product Subtotal	Subtotal
user_id	Yes	No
page_path parameter	No	Yes (not beautified on checkout like UA)

Upsell Comparison

Event Data	Elevar	Google Sales Channel
Post purchase pageview	/[ShopID]/checkouts/checkout_one_web_analytics	/checkouts/c/[CartID]/post-purchase
Purchase event	Sent server side based on order create webhook. Data based on original order (does not include products purchased in upsell)	Sent browser side on upsell page. Data based on original order only. Value = subtotal
Upsell event	Sent browser side on upsell accept. Includes data from upsell only	No

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use the native GA4/Shopify integration or should I use Elevar's Server-Side GA4 integration?

We'd recommend using Elevar's Server-Side GA4 integration.

Are there any benefits to using the Elevar over the native GA4 integration?

Yes! The main benefits (as of June '24) of using Elevar over the native integration include:

Elevar sends the purchase event sent server-side, which guarantees 99%+ order accuracy. The native integration using client-side tracking, which can under report due to ad blockers, page load speed, etc.
Elevar allows you to send (or not send) offline orders to GA4 with the attribution of your choosing.
You can track product list performance data with Elevar.
You can track accepted upsells with Elevar.
Elevar allows you to track shopping behavior rates correctly by only passing the parent name, so you get a consistent name throughout the shopping funnel. The native integration includes the parent and variant name in the name field. On most stores, you will only get a product view of the default variant, but you will get add to carts and purchases of the variant the customer selected.
Elevar tracks the "add_shipping_info" step. The native integration does not.
Elevar passes product information in the "add_payment_info" step. The native integration does not pass product information.
Elevar allows you to customize the order identifier, product identifier, & transaction value. The native integration does not.
Elevar passes a user identifier. This leads to less direct/none data & more data attributable to a marketing channel. The native integration does not pass a user identifier.
Elevar setup can work on non-Shopify pages.
Elevar sends discount amount data so you can get the original and final price paid for a product in GA4.

Are there any benefits to using the native GA4 integration over Elevar?

The native integration is free to use for all stores and can be enabled in just a couple of clicks.