# Counting purchases as the conversion goal for a Hydrogen experiment

Asked by Meg Sutherland on 2026-07-16. Tags: shopify, hydrogen, experiments, goals.

Setting up our first experiment on a Hydrogen store. Current state:

- Product views and cart events show up in the dashboard automatically
- The experiment editor asks for a primary Goal ID
- I want the goal to be completed purchases, not cart adds

In GA4 land I would just pick the purchase event, but here I do not see
purchases in the goal picker. Do I need to send something first, and if so
which event exactly and from where?

## 1 answer

### Accepted answer from nikhil_r (2026-07-17)

The goal picker only shows events that are already being tracked, which is why
purchases are not there yet. The auto events from Shopify's storefront
analytics cover views and cart activity, but the purchase itself is one you
send through the SDK.

Two options:

- `orderPlaced` is the purpose-built event for completed orders.
- `goalCompleted` with a `goalId` like `purchase-completed` works if you want
  a plain named goal.

Send it from your order confirmation flow, let at least one event come
through, and the goal becomes selectable as the experiment's primary Goal ID.

One warning before you launch: settle the traffic allocation and the variant
list first. Changing traffic distribution or adding and removing variants
mid-experiment is strongly discouraged because it invalidates the statistics,
and with a purchase goal you will not want to restart.

#### Reply from Meg Sutherland (2026-07-17)

Sent orderPlaced from the confirmation route, and it appeared in the
picker within a few minutes. Locking variants before launch, thanks.