Skip to main content

Checkout Started

Fire the checkout_started event when a visitor initiates the checkout process — typically by clicking "Proceed to Checkout", "Buy Now", or a similar action that leaves the cart and enters the multi-step checkout flow. This is the most important signal for checkout-abandonment audiences and post-checkout-funnel optimization across every advertising and email platform.

Fire the event once when checkout starts, not on each step transition (use billing_address_added, shipping_detail_added, payment_method_selected for individual steps). The products array must contain the full cart at the moment checkout begins, with event.value equal to the cart total (sum of price × quantity across all line items). If the visitor returns to the cart and re-enters checkout, fire checkout_started again — each entry into the funnel is a distinct signal.

This event is the DATA Reshape equivalent of the standard begin-checkout event in every major advertising and analytics platform — push it once and Reshape fans it out to every connected destination with the correct platform-specific name and field mapping, so you do not need to fire gtag, fbq, ttq or other tracking function calls in parallel.

  • Google Analytics 4 — begin_checkout (with items, value, currency, coupon).
  • Google Ads — dynamic remarketing checkout-start signal, used for checkout-abandonment audiences.
  • Meta Pixel / Meta Conversions API — InitiateCheckout (with content_ids, contents, value, currency, num_items).
  • TikTok Pixel / TikTok Events API — InitiateCheckout (with content_id, contents, value, currency).
  • Other connected destinations — mapped automatically based on each destination's native schema.
One push, many native events

A single Reshape event can produce one or more native events per destination, with different characteristics depending on each website's destination configuration (active pixels, server endpoints, event-mapping rules).

Complete Reference​

The checkout_started event accepts the following objects and fields. Required fields must always be present in the payload — everything else is optional but strongly recommended, because richer payloads produce better checkout-abandonment audiences and more accurate dynamic-remarketing creatives. The products array must reflect the entire cart at the moment checkout starts.

event object required

name string required

info

Use only static value checkout_started for event.name. DATA Reshape maps this to begin_checkout (GA4) and InitiateCheckout (Meta, TikTok) automatically.

name: "checkout_started"

value number required

info

Total cart value at the moment checkout starts (sum of price × quantity across all line items, before shipping and order-level discounts).

value: 249.99

currency string required

info

Currency code for all monetary values in this event, ISO 4217 three-letter format. Can be overridden in nested objects.

currency: "USD"

exchange_rate number

info

Custom exchange rate for multi-currency. Default is 1.

exchange_rate: 1

id string

info

Optional event identifier. Useful for correlating multi-entry checkout flows.

id: "evt_checkout_abc123"

context object

info
View complete Context Object documentation

url string required-if-applicable

info

Collected automatically for standard websites. Required only for SPA applications where URL changes don't trigger automatic page context updates.

url:"https://example.com/products/prod_abc123?utm_source=example"
warning

URL Parameter Sensitivity: Be mindful of sensitive information in URLs. Query parameters may contain personal identifiers, session tokens, or private information that should be handled according to privacy regulations.

page_type string recommended

info

Type of page (product, home ...)

page_type: "product"

environment string recommended

info

Allowed values: prod, dev

environment: "prod"

products array required

info

Array containing every product currently in the cart, with quantity set to the cart quantity for each SKU. Use the same id as in product_viewed and product_added_to_cart so destinations can build consistent funnels. View complete Product Object documentation

products[0] object required

id string required

info

Unique product identifier in your system.

id: "prod_abc123"

parent_id string recommended

info

Parent product ID for variants or child products. Defaults to id if not provided.

parent_id: "prod_parent_xyz789"

name string required

info

Product name or title displayed to users.

name: "Example Product Name"

parent_name string

info

Parent product name for variants or child products. Defaults to name if not provided.

parent_name: "Example Parent Product Name"

price_base number required

info

Original or base price before discounts. Always equal to or greater than price.

price_base: 299.99

price number required

info

Current selling price after discounts. Always equal to or less than price_base.

price: 249.99

tax_included boolean required

info

Whether the price includes taxes. Defaults to true if not provided.

tax_included: true

tax_percent number required

info

Tax percentage applied to the product (0-50). If not provided, the site default tax rate will be used (generally the standard rate of the country).

tax_percent: 19

quantity number required

info

Quantity of this product in the context of the event. Defaults to 1 if not provided.

quantity: 2

category string recommended

info

Main product category name

category: "Example Category"

sku string

info

Product SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) for inventory tracking

sku: "sku_abc123"

parent_sku string

info

Parent product SKU for variants or child products. Defaults to sku if not provided.

parent_sku: "sku_parent_xyz789"

gtin string

info

Global Trade Item Number for product identification

gtin: "1234567890123"

mpn string

info

Manufacturer Part Number assigned by the manufacturer

mpn: "MPN-EXAMPLE-001"

ean string

info

European Article Number for product barcoding

ean: "1234567890123"

brand string

info

Product brand or manufacturer name

brand: "Example Brand"

type string

info

Product type. Free-form string (e.g. "simple", "variable", "bundle", "subscription").

type: "simple"

stock_status boolean recommended

info

Product availability (true = in stock, false = out of stock). Defaults to true if not provided.

stock_status: true

stock_location string

info

Physical location or warehouse where product is stored

stock_location: "Example Warehouse"

created_at number

info

Timestamp when product was added to inventory (milliseconds)

created_at: 1748505040077

url string

info

Direct URL to the product page

url: "https://example.com/products/prod_abc123"

parent_url string

info

URL to the parent product page (for variants)

parent_url: "https://example.com/products/prod_parent_xyz789"

image string

info

Main product image URL

image: "https://example.com/cdn/prod_abc123-main.jpg"

images array

info

Array of additional product image URLs

images: [
  "https://example.com/cdn/prod_abc123-1.jpg",
  "https://example.com/cdn/prod_abc123-2.jpg"
]

categories array

info

Array of category objects with name and id properties

  • name (string, required) - Category name
  • id (string) - Category identifier
categories: [
  { name: "Example Category", id: "cat_abc123" },
  { name: "Example Subcategory", id: "cat_xyz789" }
]

coupons array

info

Array of product-level coupons applied to this product. View complete Coupon Object documentation

coupons[0] (object) - required

name string required

info

Coupon name or code.

name: "EXAMPLE_COUPON"

value number recommended

info

Coupon discount value.

value: 123.99

tax_included boolean recommended

info

Whether coupon value includes taxes

tax_included: true

tax_percent number recommended

info

Tax percentage for the coupon

tax_percent: 21

id string

info

Coupon internal identifier.

id: "cpn_abc123"

type string

info

Coupon type. Free-form string, use consistent naming (e.g. "LOYALTY", "SEASONAL", "FIRST_ORDER", "SHIPPING").

type: "SHIPPING"

currency string required-if-applicable

info

Currency code. Specifies the currency code when it differs from event.currency.

currency: "USD"

exchange_rate number

info

Custom exchange rate for multi-currency. Default has value 1. Specifies when it differs from event.exchange_rate.

exchange_rate: 1

properties object recommended

info

Custom product attributes for audience segmentation. Free-form key-value object. Use properties that match your product catalog and business needs.

Product Segmentation

Use the properties object to store custom product attributes, with property names defined by each business as needed, that enable advanced segmentation, personalization, and analytics across your marketing campaigns.

properties: {
  color: "space_gray",
  storage: "256GB", 
  memory: "16GB",
  connectivity: ["wifi", "bluetooth"],
  warranty: "2_years",
  energy_rating: "A++",
  brand_series: "pro_line"
  }

currency string required-if-applicable

info

Currency code. Specifies the currency code when it differs from event.currency.

currency: "USD"

exchange_rate number

info

Custom exchange rate for multi-currency. Default has value 1. Specifies when it differs from event.exchange_rate.

exchange_rate: 1

coupons array

info

Array of order-level coupons currently applied to the cart. Product-level coupons go inside each product's own coupons array. View complete Coupon Object documentation

coupons[0] object

name string required

info

Coupon name or code.

name: "EXAMPLE_COUPON"

value number recommended

info

Coupon discount value.

value: 123.99

tax_included boolean recommended

info

Whether coupon value includes taxes

tax_included: true

tax_percent number recommended

info

Tax percentage for the coupon

tax_percent: 21

id string

info

Coupon internal identifier.

id: "cpn_abc123"

type string

info

Coupon type. Free-form string, use consistent naming (e.g. "LOYALTY", "SEASONAL", "FIRST_ORDER", "SHIPPING").

type: "SHIPPING"

currency string required-if-applicable

info

Currency code. Specifies the currency code when it differs from event.currency.

currency: "USD"

exchange_rate number

info

Custom exchange rate for multi-currency. Default has value 1. Specifies when it differs from event.exchange_rate.

exchange_rate: 1

user object recommended

info

Include user identifiers whenever they are available — even a single email or phone number dramatically improves match rates for Meta Advanced Matching, Google Enhanced Conversions and TikTok Advanced Matching. View complete User Object documentation

id string recommended

info

Unique customer identifier in your system.

id: "cust_abc123"

email string recommended

info

Customer email address in plaintext. Do not send pre-hashed values — DATA Reshape automatically normalizes and hashes before sending to destinations.

email: "[email protected]"

phone string recommended

info

Customer phone number in E.164 format (plaintext). Do not send pre-hashed values — DATA Reshape automatically normalizes and hashes before sending to destinations.

phone: "+10000000000"

first_name string recommended

info

Customer first name

first_name: "Example First Name"

last_name string recommended

info

Customer last name

last_name: "Example Last Name"

country string

info

Country name or ISO country code

country: "US"

region string recommended

info

State, province, or region name

region: "Example Region"

city string recommended

info

City or locality name

city: "Example City"

street string

info

Street address including number

street: "123 Sample Street"

postal_code string

info

Postal code or ZIP code

postal_code: "00000"

orders_total_number number recommended

info

Cumulative number of orders placed by this user

orders_total_number: 5

orders_canceled_number number recommended

info

Cumulative number of orders placed and canceled by this user

orders_canceled_number: 0

orders_total_value number recommended

info

Cumulative lifetime user orders value (decimal format: 2500.50)

orders_total_value: 1234.99

orders_refunded_value number recommended

info

Cumulative lifetime user orders value canceled (decimal format: 2500.50)

orders_refunded_value: 250.99

predicted_value number

info

Predicted lifetime value of a customer for your business

predicted_value: 100.99

created_at number recommended

info

Timestamp in milliseconds since Unix epoch representing the first time the user was recorded

created_at: 1754926521690

properties object recommended

info

Custom Customer Properties Examples

User Segmentation

Use the properties object to store custom user attributes, with property names defined by each business as needed, that enable advanced segmentation, personalization, and analytics across your marketing campaigns.

properties: {
  customer_type: "returning",
  membership_level: "platinum",
  preferred_category: ["electronics", "fashion"],
  last_purchase_date: "2024-12-15",
  average_order_value: "350.00",
  payment_method_preference: "card",
  registration_date: "2023-06-15"
}

Examples​

The examples below show how to push checkout_started for four common e-commerce niches — Fashion, Electronics, Beauty and Home & Deco — each with representative product attributes for that niche, plus an additional Minimal tab with only the required fields. DATA Reshape transforms any of these payloads into the correct shape for every connected destination: a GA4 begin_checkout, a Meta InitiateCheckout (Pixel + Conversions API), a TikTok InitiateCheckout (Pixel + Events API), plus equivalents in other connected destinations. You do not need to write platform-specific code.

window.reshape = window.reshape || [];
reshape.push({
  "event": {
    "name": "checkout_started",
    "value": 129.98,
    "currency": "USD",
    "exchange_rate": 1
  },
  "context": {
    "url": "https://example.com/checkout",
    "page_type": "checkout",
    "environment": "prod"
  },
  "products": [
    {
      "id": "prod_tshirt_navy_m",
      "parent_id": "prod_tshirt_model",
      "name": "Example Cotton T-Shirt - Navy / M",
      "parent_name": "Example Cotton T-Shirt",
      "price_base": 59.99,
      "price": 49.99,
      "tax_included": true,
      "tax_percent": 19,
      "quantity": 1,
      "category": "Apparel",
      "sku": "sku_tshirt_navy_m",
      "parent_sku": "sku_tshirt_model",
      "gtin": "1234567890123",
      "mpn": "MPN-TSHIRT-001",
      "ean": "1234567890123",
      "brand": "Example Brand",
      "type": "variable",
      "stock_status": true,
      "stock_location": "Example Warehouse",
      "created_at": 1748505040077,
      "url": "https://example.com/products/cotton-tshirt-navy-m",
      "parent_url": "https://example.com/products/cotton-tshirt",
      "image": "https://example.com/cdn/tshirt-navy-main.jpg",
      "images": [
        "https://example.com/cdn/tshirt-navy-front.jpg",
        "https://example.com/cdn/tshirt-navy-back.jpg"
      ],
      "categories": [
        { "name": "Apparel", "id": "cat_apparel" },
        { "name": "T-Shirts", "id": "cat_tshirts" }
      ],
      "currency": "USD",
      "exchange_rate": 1,
      "properties": {
        "variant": "Navy / M",
        "color": "navy",
        "size": "M",
        "material": "100% cotton",
        "gender": "unisex",
        "fit": "regular",
        "season": "summer",
        "collection_drop": "essentials_2025"
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "prod_jeans_blue_32",
      "parent_id": "prod_jeans_model",
      "name": "Example Slim Jeans - Indigo / 32",
      "parent_name": "Example Slim Jeans",
      "price_base": 89.99,
      "price": 79.99,
      "tax_included": true,
      "tax_percent": 19,
      "quantity": 1,
      "category": "Apparel",
      "sku": "sku_jeans_blue_32",
      "parent_sku": "sku_jeans_model",
      "brand": "Example Brand",
      "type": "variable",
      "stock_status": true,
      "url": "https://example.com/products/slim-jeans-indigo-32",
      "image": "https://example.com/cdn/jeans-indigo.jpg",
      "properties": {
        "variant": "Indigo / 32",
        "color": "indigo",
        "size": "32",
        "material": "98% cotton, 2% elastane",
        "fit": "slim",
        "rise": "mid",
        "wash": "dark"
      }
    }
  ],
  "coupons": [
    {
      "name": "EXAMPLE_FIRSTORDER",
      "value": 15.00,
      "tax_included": true,
      "tax_percent": 19,
      "id": "cpn_first_abc123",
      "type": "FIRST_ORDER"
    }
  ],
  "user": {
    "id": "cust_abc123",
    "email": "[email protected]",
    "phone": "+10000000000",
    "first_name": "Example First Name",
    "last_name": "Example Last Name",
    "country": "US",
    "city": "Example City",
    "properties": {
      "customer_segment": "returning",
      "acquisition_channel": "organic_search",
      "loyalty_tier": "silver"
    }
  }
});
Custom properties

Custom properties (event.properties, user.properties, products[*].properties) are fully processed server-side. On browser-side pixels and tags, only a subset may be available. Server-side processing can also enrich the outgoing payload with additional parameters derived from context and data quality.

Best Practices​

  • Fire once per checkout entry — fire when the user enters the checkout flow, not on each step (use billing_address_added, shipping_detail_added, payment_method_selected for individual steps).
  • Include the full cart in products[] — every line item with its current quantity. Missing items hurt checkout-abandonment audience quality.
  • event.value = sum of price × quantity — before shipping costs and order-level discounts. Match what the user sees in the cart total at the top of checkout.
  • Use consistent product IDs across the funnel — same products[*].id as in product_viewed and product_added_to_cart. This is what lets destinations build view→cart→checkout→purchase funnels.
  • Include the user object — even just an email improves match rates for Meta Advanced Matching, Google Enhanced Conversions and TikTok Advanced Matching, and enables similar audience-based flows in other connected destinations.
  • Re-fire on re-entry — if the user returns to the cart and enters checkout again, fire checkout_started again. Each entry is a distinct funnel signal.