On The Stage uses ecommerce tracking events to understand how patrons interact with production sites during the ticket purchasing process.

These events allow analytics platforms to capture key actions such as:

Viewing performances
Selecting ticket types
Adding tickets or donations to the cart
Beginning checkout
Entering payment information
Completing a purchase

Tracking these events helps identify areas where patrons may encounter friction in the purchasing process and allows organizations to better understand conversion behavior.

Event data is sent to Google Analytics (GA4) and mapped to advertising platforms including Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, and Reddit conversion tracking.

Item Parameters

Item parameters provide detailed information about the items a patron interacts with, such as tickets, donations, or merchandise.

Name	Type	Example Value	Definition
`item_name`	string	The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition or Page Middle School	event title (fit for humans) if the item is a donation, `item_name` = `item_brand` since donations are made at the organization level.
`item_ID`	string		a unique identifier for the item (fit for machines)
`item_brand`	string	Page Middle School	organization name
`item_variant`	string	General Admission	ticket type (General, Reserved, etc.)
`item_category`	string	Tickets	type of purchase (tickets, donation, merchandise, promo, etc.)
`item_category2`	string	Senior	ticket name (can vary by customer - Senior/Student or Balcony/VIP/Orchestra)
`item_category3`	string	Walkup	sale type (Online, Walkup, agent, API, etc.)
`item_category4`	string		<reserved for future use>
`item_category5`	string		<reserved for future use>
`item_list_id`	string	schedule	the unique name of the list of items. we may show multiple lists on a single page (e.g. when a user views a list of ticket types to choose from and an upsell carousel for merchandise) and the items viewed in each list should be passed as part of the array for each `item_list_id`.
`item_list_name`	string	Schedule	the “pretty” name of the list of items being shown to the user.
`quantity`	number	4	item quantity, regardless of category
`seat_id`	string	A7	The seat the user selected from the seat map. (This would be a custom dimension.)
`price`	number	10	the price of the item prior to any discounts
`coupon`	string	free_tix	the name of the promotion code used. this should be used when the promotion code only applies to a specific item rather than the entire order (e.g. free ticket vs. 10% off your entire order.)
`discount`	number	3.33	the discount applied to the order based on the coupon code. this should always be a dollar amount applied to the item and not a percentage.

Checkout Parameters

These parameters relevant to the checkout process.

Name	Type	Example Value	Definition
`currency`	string	GBP	the currency of the transaction
`quantity`	number	4	item quantity, regardless of category
`value`	number	134.75	the total of the order, after any discounts
`ticket_fees`	number	7.38	total of ticket fees
`cc_fees`	number	4.33	total of credit card fees
`tax`	number	1.22	any taxes collected (VAT, sales tax, etc.)
`coupon`	string	summer_fun	the name of the promotion code used
`discount`	number	2.37	the discount applied to the order based on the coupon code
`shipping`	number	12.77	Shipping cost
`order_id`			returned from stripe on the success page
`items`	array<Item>		the items that are in the user’s cart

Analytics Event Mapping

Google Analytics ecommerce events are mapped to advertising platform events so that conversions can be tracked across marketing channels.

Meta Pixel Mapping

Google Analytics events are mapped to Meta Pixel events.

GA4 Event	Meta Pixel Event	Description
view_item	ViewContent	Patron views a product or event page
add_to_cart	AddToCart	Patron adds an item to their cart
begin_checkout	InitiateCheckout	Patron begins the checkout process
add_payment_info	AddPaymentInfo	Patron enters payment information
purchase	Purchase	Patron completes a transaction
refund	Refund	Refund is processed for an order

TikTok Pixel Mapping

Google Analytics events are mapped to TikTok events and sent with the same payload contents.

GA4 Event	TikTok Event	Notes
view_item	ViewContent	Used for product or event pages
add_to_cart	AddToCart	Direct mapping
begin_checkout	InitiateCheckout	Direct mapping
add_payment_info	AddPaymentInfo	Optional event
purchase	CompletePayment	TikTok’s purchase conversion event
view_item_list	ViewContent	Used for list views
select_item	ClickButton / ViewContent	Optional depending on funnel depth

Reddit Event Mapping

Google Analytics events are mapped to Reddit events and sent with the same payload contents.

GA4 Event	Reddit Pixel Event	Notes
`view_item`	`ViewContent`	Primary mapping for product or event detail pages.
`view_item_list`	`PageVisit`	Reddit does not distinguish list vs detail; use `PageVisit` event.
`add_to_cart`	`AddToCart`	Direct mapping.
`begin_checkout`	`Lead`	Common proxy since Reddit has no checkout-start event.
`purchase`	`Purchase`	Core conversion event.

Example Events

When a user views a list of performances:

gtag("event", "view_item_list", { item_list_id: "schedule", item_list_name: "Schedule", items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets" }, { item_id: "SKU_12346", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Sat Mar 30 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets" }, { item_id: "SKU_12346", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Sun Mar 31 2023, 2:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets" } ] });

When a user selects a performance from the list of performances:

gtag("event", "select_item", { item_list_id: "schedule", item_list_name: "Schedule", items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets" } ] });

When a user is shown a list of ticket types to choose from for a given performance:

gtag("event", "view_item_list", { item_list_id: "ticket_type_list", item_list_name: "Ticket Types", items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_variant: "General Admission", item_category2: "Student", item_category3: "Online", price: 5.00, quantity: 0 }, { item_id: "SKU_12346", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Sat Mar 30 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_variant: "General Admission", item_category2: "Senior", item_category3: "Online", price: 5.00, quantity: 0 }, { item_id: "SKU_12346", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Sun Mar 31 2023, 2:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_variant: "General Admission", item_category2: "Adult", item_category3: "Online", price: 10.00, quantity: 0 } ] });

When a user clicks the “Purchase” button and moves forward to their cart:

gtag("event", "add_to_cart", { currency: "USD", value: 20.00, items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_category2: "Adult", item_variant: "General Admission", item_category3: "Online" price: 10.00, quantity: 2 } ] });

If the user then added a donation to their cart:

gtag("event", "add_to_cart", { currency: "USD", value: 18.00, items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Donation", price: 18.00, quantity: 1 } ] });

If the user then removes the donation:

gtag("event", "remove_from_cart", { currency: "USD", value: 18.00, items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Donation", price: 18.00, quantity: 1 } ] });

And then clicked the checkout button:

gtag("event", "begin_checkout", { currency: "USD", value: 38.00, fees: 3.58 items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_category2: "Adult", item_variant: "General Admission", price: 20.00, quantity: 2 } { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Donation", price: 18.00, quantity: 1 } ] });

And then adds their contact info and payment details:

gtag("event", "begin_checkout", { currency: "USD", value: 38.00, payment_type: "credit card", items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_category2: "Student", item_variant: "General Admission", price: 10.00, quantity: 2 } { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Donation", price: 18.00, quantity: 1 } ] });

And then after on the success page after being charged by Stripe:

gtag("event", "purchase", { currency: "USD", value: 38.00, fees: 1.38, tax: 6.33, transaction_id: T_1234, payment_type: "credit card", items: [ { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Tickets", item_category2: "Student", item_variant: "General Admission", price: 10.00, quantity: 2 } { item_id: "SKU_12345", item_name: "The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition - Fri Mar 29 2023, 7:00 PM", item_brand: "Page Middle School", item_category: "Donation", price: 18.00, quantity: 1 } ] });

Ecommerce Event Tracking for Analytics & Pixels