GA4 - How To Validate Add Shipping Info
Parameters to validate add_shipping_info
Required Parameters
currency (string) - Required when value is set
- Must be 3-letter ISO 4217 format: USD, EUR, GBP
- Without currency, revenue metrics won’t calculate
- Common mistake: “usd” instead of “USD”
value (number) - Required for revenue tracking
- Must be number, not string
- Sum of (price × quantity) for all items
- Do NOT include shipping or tax
- Common mistake: “30.03” as string instead of 30.03 number
items - Required
- Must be array, even for single item
- Cannot be empty
- Each item needs item_id OR item_name
- Common mistake: empty array or object instead of array
item_id OR item_name (string) - At least one required per item
- Every item must have one of these
- item_id preferred for tracking
- Common mistake: providing neither
Optional Parameters
shipping_tier (string)
- The shipping method selected
- Examples: “Ground”, “Air”, “Next-day”, “Express”, “Standard”
- Useful for analyzing shipping preferences
Validate add_shipping_info using AH Debugger
Install and Enable AH Debugger
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Install AH Debugger extension from Chrome Web Store ,
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Click on the puzzle Icon on the top right of your browser,
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Optionally pin the AH Debugger extension for easy access.
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Click on the extension icon
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Enable the debugger clicking on red toggle
View Event in Console Tab
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Open Chrome DevTools by pressing
F12or right-clicking anywhere and selecting Inspect. -
Click the Console tab in DevTools and trigger the event on your website.
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Check for the event name you want to validate, and click to expand it and check the hit parameters
View Event in AH Debugger Panel
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Open Chrome DevTools by pressing
F12or right-clicking anywhere and selecting Inspect. -
Click on AH Debugger panel. If not present, click on the double-arrow on the right and from the dropdown click on AH Debugger.
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Use Global and Local search to find the or specific parameters you want to validate.
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Start validating the parameters to ensure they match with what GA4 expects to receive for that event.
- Built-in Tests: If any is present, you will see on the right side the results. Click on the number and a modal with the results will show up.
Validate add_shipping_info using Chrome DevTools
Open Chrome DevTools Network
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Navigate to your checkout shipping page, then press F12 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac). Alternatively, right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect.
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Click the Network tab in the DevTools panel.
Setup Network Tab
- In the filter box, type:
collectto show only GA4 requests or the event name. - Select the Network Request to debug
- Inspect and Validate parameters existence and values
Click the Payload tab.
Find “Query String Parameters” section.
Look for these key parameters:
en=add_shipping_info ← Event name
v=2 ← Protocol version
tid=G-XXXXXXXXXX ← Your Measurement ID
epn.value=77.97 ← Value (number type)
epc.currency=USD ← Currency
ep.coupon=SUMMER_FUN ← Coupon code
ep.shipping_tier=Ground ← Shipping tier
pr1id=TSHIRT001 ← First item ID
pr1nm=Blue%20T-Shirt ← First item name
pr1pr=29.99 ← First item price
pr1qt=2 ← First item quantity
pr2id=SHORTS001 ← Second item ID
pr2pr=17.99 ← Second item price
pr2qt=1 ← Second item quantity
Validate Request Status
Look at the Status column:
- 2xx (shown in green) = Success
- 4xx (red) = Bad request
- 5xx (red) = Bad request
- Failed (red) = Network error, ad blocker, Google Ads account suspended. Usually with error code “-1”
Automated Validation for GA4 add_shipping_info
Manual validation can be time-consuming and error-prone. Consider using AssertionHub Automated to set up automated tests that continuously monitor your GA4 implementation, including the add_shipping_info event.
Discover more about AssertionHub Automated for your GA4 and other events here.
