When do I fire Google Analytics checkout step actions?

Question

I am not sure what numbers are above the bars:

I setup check out steps in ecommerce setup like this:

When someone finishes a step, I fire following code:

ga('ec:setAction', 'checkout', {'step': 1});

Is it correct to fire this code when someone enters step one or when someone leaves step one?

Google Analytics docs say: The following example shows how to measure the first step of a checkout process, with a single product, and some additional information about the payment type:

ga('ec:addProduct', {               // Provide product details in an productFieldObject.
  'id': 'P12345',                   // Product ID (string).
  'name': 'Android Warhol T-Shirt', // Product name (string).
  'category': 'Apparel',            // Product category (string).
  'brand': 'Google',                // Product brand (string).
  'variant': 'black',               // Product variant (string).
  'price': '29.20',                 // Product price (currency).
  'quantity': 1                     // Product quantity (number).
});

// Add the step number and additional info about the checkout to the action.
ga('ec:setAction','checkout', {
    'step': 1,
    'option': 'Visa'
});

They fire this action with option a user selected. Therfor they send it when they finished step 1 of checkout process.

But what is the number above the bar in my screenshot under Billing Information (74)? This number must be the number people finished this step, isn't it?

Answer 1

You have to fire the checkout action when you finished a step.

Step 1 finish code:

ga('ec:setAction', 'checkout', {'step': 1});

Google Analytics chart description is misleading.

% Completion rate means that so many visitors completed this step. That's why you have to fire these actions after you finished this step.

But the description Billing Information Dropoff is misleading. Because it is the dropoff that happened in Shipping Method.

38 visitors finished Billing Information, two of them went to Shipping Adress and 36 to Shipping Method. The two from Shipping Adress moved on to Shipping Method as well. So there were 38 visitors at Shipping Method, but only 37 visitors finished this step. That's why 1 left at this point.

I do not know why Google Analytics labels this data with wrong description.

Answer 2

I actually fire the checkout actions when I start a step. Therefor I know that the number of people who don't get to the next step is my abandonment number and more accurately reflects the behaviour of the users on the site.

As a bonus tip- Don't think of the checkout ( especially if its a single page checkout) as being based on pages, you are more interested in the discrete steps which may have multiple elements on the site.