I’m experiencing an issue with a custom eCommerce event in Google Analytics 4. Although standard events like add_to_cart correctly capture item details in both DebugView and reports, my custom event, add_to_quote, isn’t showing the items array.
Even with an identical structure to add_to_cart, add_to_quote only records other parameters such as user_type and quote_timestamp, leaving the items data completely absent. I’ve verified that the GTM setup and Data Layer variables are properly configured. Could this be due to GA4 not recognizing add_to_quote as a default event?
Any advice on troubleshooting or configuring custom events to capture the full items array would be much appreciated.
hey daisy, i’ve seen this before. GA4 can be picky with custom events. have u tried using the ‘add_to_wishlist’ event instead? it’s similar to ur ‘add_to_quote’ but GA4 recognizes it. if that doesn’t work, maybe check ur data layer structure. sometimes tiny differences can mess things up. good luck!
Hey there, Daisy_Whimsical! That’s a real head-scratcher you’ve got there with your custom event. 
I’m super curious about a couple things:
Have you tried comparing the raw data being sent for both events in the network tab of your browser’s dev tools? Sometimes that can reveal sneaky differences we might miss otherwise.
Also, I wonder if GA4 might be treating your custom event differently because it doesn’t recognize it as e-commerce specific. Have you considered using one of GA4’s recommended custom e-commerce events like ‘add_to_wishlist’ instead? It might play nicer with GA4’s e-commerce reporting.
Oh, and here’s a wild thought - what if you tried prefixing your event name with ‘ecommerce_’ like ‘ecommerce_add_to_quote’? I’ve heard whispers that this can sometimes help GA4 categorize custom events better.
Let us know what you find out! I’m dying to know if any of these ideas help crack the case. Good luck! 
I encountered a similar issue with custom eCommerce events in GA4. The problem likely stems from GA4 not recognizing ‘add_to_quote’ as a standard eCommerce event. To resolve this, I’d suggest implementing a custom definition for your event in GA4’s interface.
Navigate to Configure > Custom Definitions in your GA4 property settings. Create a new event parameter for ‘items’ and link it to your ‘add_to_quote’ event. This should prompt GA4 to process and display the items array correctly.
Additionally, ensure your event is properly formatted according to GA4’s Measurement Protocol. The ‘items’ parameter should be an array of objects, each representing a product with properties like ‘item_id’, ‘item_name’, etc.
If issues persist, consider using Google’s Analytics Debugger Chrome extension for more detailed troubleshooting. It provides insights that might not be visible in standard DebugView.