Create the property and web stream
- Go to analytics.google.com, create an account, then create a property.
- Pick your reporting time zone and currency. For an Indian store, that means India time and rupees.
- Add a Web data stream with your store's address and keep enhanced measurement on. It collects page views and other events automatically.
- Open the stream and copy the Measurement ID, which starts with G-.
- Paste that ID into your store platform's Google Analytics field, or add the Google tag to every page.
Ecommerce events are not automatic
Here is the catch most store owners miss. GA4 can count page views on its own, but it does not collect ecommerce events automatically. You, your developer or your store platform must send them. Google recommends a set of events for online sales. Sending them fills the Ecommerce purchases report, which shows how each product performs. Without them, GA4 can tell you how many people visited, but not what they bought. Start with the four events below. Together they show the whole path from product page to paid order.
The four events that matter most
| Event | Fires when a shopper | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| view_item | Views an item | Which products get attention |
| add_to_cart | Adds items to their shopping cart | Which products tempt people |
| begin_checkout | Begins checkout | How many carts reach checkout |
| purchase | Completes a purchase | Orders and revenue from each source |
Send value, currency and an order ID
Each event needs its parameters, not just its name. For a purchase, send the order value, the currency and a transaction ID. For rupees, the currency code is INR. Google says an event missing a required parameter is treated as a custom event, and it will not appear in the report. The transaction ID must be unique for each order, such as your order number. GA4 removes duplicate purchases that share an ID, so a buyer who reloads the thank-you page is not counted twice. Never send an empty ID, or GA4 treats all those purchases as duplicates.
Test it in DebugView
Do not wait a day to find a mistake. Google says reports can take up to 24 hours to fill with ecommerce data, but DebugView shows events as they arrive. Turn on debug mode for your own device with Google Tag Assistant. Then open Admin, and under Data display, click DebugView. Browse a product, add it to the cart and place a test COD order. Each event should appear in the Seconds stream, which shows the last 60 seconds. Click purchase to check its value and currency. If you declined cookies, your events will not show, so accept them first.
Consent and your cookie banner
Tracking should respect what your buyers choose. Google's consent mode passes each visitor's cookie choice to its tags, and the tags adjust. When a visitor says no, the tags send cookieless pings instead of storing cookies. Google then fills some of the gaps with modelling. Consent mode does not give you a banner, though. You still need a clear cookie banner that asks first. Expect your GA4 numbers to sit below your real order count, since some buyers will say no.
Check GA4 against real orders
GA4 is a guide, not your ledger. A COD purchase event usually fires when the order is placed, not when the cash is collected, and some parcels come back. So compare GA4 revenue with delivered orders each week. Use GA4 for trends, such as which product pages lead to checkout, rather than exact totals. On The Storemate, you paste your G- ID into the tracking settings, and the Google tag loads only after a shopper accepts analytics cookies. Use DebugView to see exactly which events reach GA4 from your store, and fill any gaps before you trust a report.