Google Analytics 4 Updates: What Changed and What Shopify Stores Should Do

Illustration of an analytics dashboard with Users, Key events and Revenue tiles and a rising bar chart, with view_item, add_to_cart and purchase event chips flowing from a storefront

Updated September 2026

Google Analytics 4 is the only version of Google Analytics now. Universal Analytics, the version most Shopify stores used for years, stopped collecting data on July 1, 2023, and its reports and historical data were switched off from July 1, 2024. If your store still has an ID starting with UA- anywhere, it isn't recording anything.

GA4 itself isn't a finished product. Google ships changes to it most months, so “what changed” is a moving target. This guide covers the big shift from Universal Analytics, the recent updates that matter to a Shopify store, how to connect GA4 properly, and the settings worth checking once it's running.

The short version

  • GA4 is current. There's no newer version to upgrade to, and the old one is gone.
  • It measures events, not pageviews. Product views, add-to-carts, checkouts and purchases are all events. The ones that matter to your business are marked as key events (what GA4 used to call conversions).
  • Google updates it continuously. The official list is What's new in Google Analytics.
  • On Shopify, connect it once, through the Google & YouTube app or an analytics app, never both for the same events.

What changed from Universal Analytics to GA4

Universal Analytics was built around sessions and pageviews, with “goals” layered on top. GA4 records everything as an event, each with its own details attached: which product, what price, what order value. That's why GA4's ecommerce reports can show you which products are viewed but rarely bought, or where people drop out of checkout.

How a Shopify visit becomes Google Analytics 4 events: viewing a product sends view_item, adding to cart sends add_to_cart, starting checkout sends begin_checkout, and paying sends purchase, which you mark as a key event UNIVERSAL ANALYTICS Counted pageviews in sessions pageview · pageview · goal GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 Every action is an event 1 Opens a product view_item 2 Adds it to the cart add_to_cart 3 Starts checkout begin_checkout 4 Pays purchase KEY EVENT Each event carries the product, price and value, so reports can add them up.
In GA4, each step of a shopping visit is its own event. Mark the purchase as a key event so it shows up as the outcome that counts.
Universal Analytics Google Analytics 4
Status Stopped processing July 1, 2023; data removed from July 2024 Current
ID format UA-XXXXXX-X G-XXXXXXX (Measurement ID)
What it counts Pageviews and sessions Events
Business outcomes Goals Key events
Detailed data kept for — 2 or 14 months for explorations and funnels (you choose)

The naming change catches people out. In GA4, a key event is an action that's important to your business. A conversion is now the term used for actions you measure in both Google Analytics and Google Ads to judge and bid on ad campaigns. If an older guide tells you to “mark purchase as a conversion”, look for key events instead.

Recent GA4 updates worth knowing about

A few changes from Google's release notes over the past year that are useful for a small store:

  • Dashboards (September 2026). A flexible way to put the numbers you check every week, like revenue, key events and top products, in one report.
  • AI assistant traffic (May 2026). GA4 can now show visits that came from chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, so you can see whether AI answers are sending you shoppers. If that's on your mind, our guide to getting your store understood by AI search covers the storefront side.
  • Source group (June 2026). A dimension that groups the many source names for platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, so social traffic isn't scattered across dozens of rows.
  • Generated insights on the Home page (February 2026). A short summary of the biggest changes in your data since your last visit.
  • Per-conversion attribution settings (January 2026). Attribution settings can now be set separately for each conversion, which matters if you run Google Ads.

You don't need to act on every release. Check the release notes every few months, and look again whenever a report suddenly looks different.

How to set up Google Analytics 4 on Shopify

You need a GA4 property with a web data stream for your store's domain. Create one in Google Analytics under Admin if you haven't already. Then connect it using Shopify's free Google & YouTube app:

  1. Install the Google & YouTube app from the Shopify App Store and connect your Google account.
  2. On the app's Overview page, find Just want to set up Google Analytics 4 and click Get started.
  3. Under Your Google Account, select your Google Analytics property and click Connect, then Confirm.
Illustration of connecting Google Analytics 4 in the Google and YouTube app for Shopify: the Just want to set up Google Analytics 4 section with Get started, then choosing a property under Your Google Account and clicking Connect GOOGLE & YOUTUBE · OVERVIEW STEP 1 Just want to set up Google Analytics 4 Get started STEP 2 Your Google Account you@yourstore.com GOOGLE ANALYTICS PROPERTY Your Store – GA4 Web stream · G-XXXXXXX Old test property Web stream · G-YYYYYYY Connect then Confirm
An illustration of the two steps in the Google & YouTube app (not a screenshot). Pick the property that belongs to your live store.

Once it's connected, Shopify sends the standard ecommerce events, including view_item_list, view_cart, remove_from_cart, add_shipping_info, begin_checkout, add_payment_info and purchase.

Worth knowingGoogle's own guidance is to check you don't have duplicate tags. If the Google & YouTube app sends GA4 data and a theme snippet, a custom pixel or another app sends the same events to the same property, every purchase is counted twice.

Google & YouTube app vs an analytics app

The Google & YouTube app is the native option and covers the basics well. It also does much more than analytics: it's how you sync products to Google Merchant Center and run Shopping campaigns, so most stores will have it installed either way. Where it stops is customization.

Google & YouTube app Pasilobus Google Analytics Custom code or Tag Manager
Standard ecommerce events Yes Yes You build them
Refunds sent to GA4 No Yes, on a paid plan You build it
Custom events (clicks, forms, page visits) No Yes, on a paid plan Yes
More than one GA4 property One Yes Yes
Product feed and Shopping ads Yes No No
Effort A few clicks A few clicks Developer time and upkeep

If GA4 revenue looking higher than Shopify's bothers you, or you want to track things like newsletter sign-ups and size-guide clicks, we build Pasilobus Google Analytics. Our app sends checkout and purchase events server-side, can send refunds so GA4 shows net revenue, and supports custom events without code. You can keep the Google & YouTube app for your product feed and let our app handle analytics, as long as only one of them sends GA4 events. It's on the Shopify App Store with a free plan, and the help centre explains using both apps together. We cover the app in more detail in our Google Analytics app guide.

Five settings to check after setup

  1. One source of GA4 events. Remove old gtag or UA- snippets from your theme, and make sure only one app sends events to your property.
  2. Data retention. In GA4 Admin, open the property's Data retention setting (with the property's data settings) and choose 14 months. It affects explorations and funnel reports, not standard reports, but you'll want a year-on-year comparison later.
  3. Purchase is a key event. Check under Admin → Events (or Key events) that purchase is marked.
  4. Consent. If you sell to customers in regions with cookie laws, set up a consent banner. With Shopify's banner (Settings → Customer privacy → Cookie banner) or a consent app that uses Shopify's Customer Privacy API, consent mode works with the Google & YouTube app automatically. We explain the options in our cookie banner guide.
  5. A test order. Open GA4's DebugView or the Realtime report, browse your store, add something to the cart and check the events arrive.

How often does Google Analytics update your data?

Realtime and DebugView show activity within moments, which is what you use for testing. Standard reports aren't live: they're processed with a delay, so today's numbers can keep changing for a day or two. Don't judge a campaign or compare GA4 with Shopify until the data has settled.

Why GA4 and Shopify never match exactly

Shopify records every order because it processes them. GA4 only knows about what it was told by events from the browser or a server, so it will usually show somewhat fewer orders. Common reasons:

  • ad blockers and privacy settings, and visitors who decline cookies;
  • orders created in the admin, such as draft orders and phone orders;
  • different time zones or date ranges in the two reports;
  • refunds, which reduce Shopify's net sales but not GA4 revenue unless they're sent to GA4.

Use Shopify for your sales numbers and GA4 for behavior: where visitors come from, what they look at and where they leave. A gap is normal; a sudden change in the size of the gap is worth investigating.

Troubleshooting

  1. No data at all. Check the Measurement ID in your app starts with G- and matches the web stream under Admin → Data streams.
  2. Revenue roughly double Shopify's. Two tags are sending purchases. Remove one.
  3. Purchases missing but page views fine. Check your app handles checkout events, and test a real order rather than relying on page views.
  4. Events in DebugView but not in reports. Wait. Standard reports lag behind.
  5. Traffic dropped after adding a cookie banner. Visitors who decline analytics cookies aren't measured the same way. That's expected.

Common questions

Is Google Analytics 4 the current version?

Yes. GA4 is the only version of Google Analytics. Universal Analytics no longer processes data, and its reports have been shut down.

How often does Google update GA4?

Continuously. Google publishes changes in its What's new in Google Analytics release notes, often several times a month.

Can I still see my old Universal Analytics data?

No. Access to Universal Analytics data ended from July 1, 2024. If you exported reports before then, those files are all that's left.

Do I need an app to use GA4 on Shopify?

You need something to send the events. Shopify's free Google & YouTube app does that; an analytics app like ours adds refunds, custom events and more control. Adding code to your theme by hand is possible, but theme code doesn't run in Shopify's checkout, so it misses the steps that matter most.

What happened to conversions in GA4?

What GA4 used to call conversions are now key events. “Conversions” is kept for actions shared with Google Ads for measuring and bidding on campaigns.

Why is my GA4 revenue higher than Shopify's net sales?

Usually because refunds aren't being sent to GA4, or because two tags are counting each purchase.

Want a second pair of eyes?

If your numbers don't add up and you'd rather someone else untangled it, talk to us. Checking analytics setups is part of the monthly care plans we run for Shopify stores, and it's one of the problems we list in what we see wrong in most Shopify stores we audit.