This report analyzes public Google Analytics 4 data from the Google Merchandise Store to reveal year-over-year Q1 trends in eCommerce, user behavior, top products, and campaign results. It showcases my data analysis skills and technical expertise in Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, including data layer configuration, tag setup, event tracking, and custom reporting.
The business summary compares Q1-2025 metrics with Q1-2024 to highlight year-over-year trends. The data shows substantial growth, with new users increasing by 81.4% YoY and transactions rising by 52.8% YoY. While the conversion rate saw a slight decline of 10.3%, overall revenue grew by 81.2% YoY, driven by an 18.6% increase in average order value and a 15.8% rise in revenue per user. These positive trends can be attributed to enhanced marketing strategies, improved user experience, and a broader product selection. Additionally, strategic ad campaigns and optimized checkout processes likely contributed to higher engagement and transaction volume.
Our checkout journey analysis focuses on key user interactions, including session initiation, item views, selections, checkout initiation, and completed purchases. In Q1 2025, 239K users started a session. Among them, 64% (152K users) viewed an item, while 53% (128K users) proceeded to select one. Engagement declined further along the funnel, with only 4% (9K users) starting checkout, 1% (2.5K users) finalizing their purchase. In comparison to Q1 2024, Q1 2025 saw significant increases: session initiations rose by 83%, views by 32%, item selections by 341%, checkout initiations by 43%, and purchases by 51%. These trends indicate an overall improvement in checkout efficiency and conversion rates.
The Unites States leads with the highest number of users across all stages and reflects highest conversion rate of 2.2% from view item to purchase. Canada has a moderate conversion rate of 0.7%, suggesting some room for improvement but not as dire as India and China. India and China show the lowest conversion rate of 0.01%. This indicates a significant friction in these markets, either due to cultural preferences, poor user experience, or pricing and payment method barriers. For next steps, we can improve global conversions by implementing localized marketing campaigns that explore the reasons behind stronger performance in certain countries, taking into account consumer behavior, cultural differences, and region-specific events or promotions.
With 65% of users browsing from desktop and accounting for 90% of purchases, web remains the dominant channel for conversions, yet there is still room to enhance performance through streamlined checkouts, faster load times, intuitive navigation, and robust product discovery features. Meanwhile, mobile presents a significant growth opportunity—despite 33% of users browsing on mobile, only 10% of purchases occur there, pointing to friction in the mobile purchase journey. To close this gap, optimizing for mobile with simplified checkout flows, faster load speeds, mobile-friendly payment options, responsive design, and seamless cross-device experiences can help increase conversions and better capture high-intent users across platforms.
The leading product categories are Apparel, generating $72K in revenue, followed by Lifestyle ($58K), and Stationery ($29K), reflecting strong demand for branded clothing and everyday accessories. Shop By Brand ($24K) and Collections ($13K) indicate consumer interest in curated selections, while Clearance ($8K) and New Arrivals ($8K) show a preference for discounts and new products. Gift Cards ($260) and Communities ($144) are underperforming, pointing to low awareness or demand.
The best-seller item is Google Cloud Puzzle Set ($11K), followed by the Super G Backpack ($9.5K) and Super G Hoodie ($9.5K), indicating a strong demand for practical and stylish branded items. Collectibles like the Android Classic Plushie ($8K) and functional products such as the Google Campus Bike ($7.7K) and Google Water Bottle ($7.4K) also perform well, reflecting a mix of interest in unique merchandise and everyday essentials.
Direct traffic drives the most session starts (95K) and holds the highest conversion rate at 2%, showing strong potential. Organic search brings in the second-highest volume (29K sessions) but converts at just 1%, suggesting a gap between user intent and content. Paid search sees moderate traffic (8.5K) with a similar 1% conversion rate, indicating that users may not be ready to buy or are mismatched in targeting. Referral traffic is the lowest in both volume (8K) and conversions (0.8%).
The campaign performance mirrors that of the channel performance, with each channel showing similar trends in terms of traffic volumes, ad clicks, and revenue. Here are some campaign optimization opportunities to enhance performance.