Shopify
Last updated: September 29, 2026
This article covers connecting Shopify to Polar, how Polar defines key Shopify metrics, troubleshooting, and the full list of available metrics and dimensions. Without a Shopify connection, Polar can't import your ecommerce data, so your core dashboards won't populate.
Connect Shopify
Before you start, make sure you have:
Access to your Shopify admin with permission to manage and install apps and channels. This is required to install the Polar Analytics app.
Your store URL in the format
storename.myshopify.com.A Polar account you're logged in to.
In Polar, go to the Connectors page and click Configure next to Shopify.
Enter your store domain (for example,
mystore.myshopify.com).Shopify will ask you to authorize Polar. Click Install.
Wait for the initial sync. It can take up to 24 hours depending on how much data you have, and you'll get an email when it's done. Polar automatically backfills your store's history as far back as Shopify allows.
Tip: you can connect multiple Shopify stores at no extra cost. Repeat these steps for each store.
Connecting a client's store (agencies)
In addition to Manage and install apps and channels, we recommend these Shopify permissions so Polar can access all the data it needs: Home, Orders (Edit orders), Draft orders, Products, Gift cards, Customers, Reports, Dashboards, and Discounts. See Shopify's staff permissions guide.
How Polar defines key Shopify metrics
Polar mirrors Shopify's definitions where possible. Hover over the ⓘ icon next to any metric in Polar to see how it's calculated.
Metric | Definition |
Gross Sales | Product price × quantity, before discounts or returns |
Discounts | Order-level and line-item discounts |
Returns | Value of refunded items |
Net Sales | Gross Sales − Discounts − Returns |
Shipping | Shipping charges minus shipping discounts and refunds |
Tax & Duties | Collected tax, included if enabled at checkout |
Total Sales | Net Sales + Shipping + Tax & Duties |
Gift cards
Shopify treats gift cards as liabilities and excludes them from its sales figures. In Polar, this is controlled by the Exclude gift cards by default setting in Data Settings, which is turned on for new accounts. You can change this in Data Settings.
Total Sales vs. Product Sales
Total Sales includes shipping by default, while Product Sales (in the Products tab) doesn't, so the two won't match exactly. To exclude shipping from Total Sales, turn off the shipping toggle in Data Settings.
Total Orders vs. Product Quantity
Total Orders counts checkouts: one order is one, however many items it contains. Product Quantity counts individual units sold across all orders. For example, one order with 2 units of Product A and 3 of Product B is 1 order and a Product Quantity of 5.
Use Total Orders for conversion, AOV and purchase frequency. Use Product Quantity for inventory, best-sellers and bundling. If orders stay flat while quantity rises, customers are buying more items per order.
The metric name depends on the source:
Product Quantity is the blended metric, combining Shopify and Amazon.
Net Product Quantity is Shopify only, net of returns.
Quantity Ordered is Amazon only.
Conversion rate
Polar and Shopify calculate conversion rate differently, so they won't match:
Polar's Shopify Conversion Rate = Total Orders (Shopify) ÷ Sessions (Google Analytics). For example, 280 orders ÷ 8,000 sessions = 3.5%.
Shopify's Online Store Conversion Rate = Sessions Converted ÷ Sessions (both from Shopify). For example, 250 ÷ 8,500 = 2.94%.
Shopify counts sessions differently from Google Analytics, and "Sessions Converted" undercounts when a session includes more than one order. Shopify doesn't share sessions data through its API, so Polar can't use Shopify's formula.
Troubleshooting
Data hasn't synced after 24 hours
Check that the Shopify connector shows as connected on the Connectors page.
Try re-authorizing the connection.
If it still hasn't synced, reach out through the in-app chat with your workspace name and store URL.
Data doesn't appear on your dashboard
Confirm the sync has finished, then check your date filter (for example, set it to Last 30 Days).
Numbers don't match Shopify exactly
Shopify and Polar treat returns, tax, shipping and refund timing differently, so small differences are normal. See Troubleshooting Data Discrepancies between Shopify and Polar for how to reconcile them.
Available metrics
Raw metrics come directly from Shopify. Computed metrics are calculated from raw metrics using Shopify's definitions. Explore them all in the custom table builder.
Category | Raw metrics | Computed metrics |
Sales | Gross Sales, Discounts, Returns, Total Refunds, Shipping, Shipping Pre Refunds, Shipping Refunds, Tax, Tax Pre Refunds, Tax Refunds, Tips | Net Sales, Total Sales |
Orders & customers | Total Orders, Returned Orders, Total Customers, New Customers, New Customer Orders, Repeat Customers, Repeat Customer Orders, Avg time between orders (days), Avg time between orders (hours) | Average Order Value, New Average Order Value, Repeat Average Order Value, New Customer %, Repeat Customer %, New Sales, New Sales %, Repeat Sales, Repeat Sales %, Purchase Frequency, LTV |
Products & inventory | Product Quantity, Net Product Quantity, Returned Product Quantity, Current Inventory Quantity (Snapshot) | |
Costs & profit | Cost of Products (COGs), Expenses, Total Costs | Gross Profit, Gross Profit (net of expenses), Gross Margin, Gross Margin (net of expenses), Net Profit, CM1, CM1 %, CM2, CM2 % |
New vs. repeat | "New" and "Repeat" versions of: Cost of Products, Discounts, Gross Sales, Returns, Shipping, Shipping Pre Refunds, Tax, Tax Pre Refunds, Tips, Total Costs | |
Time windows | 30, 60, 90, 180 and 360 Day versions of: Cost of Products, Customers, Discounts, Gross Sales, Orders, Returns, Shipping, Tax, Tips, Total Costs | 30, 60, 90, 180 and 360 Day versions of: Gross Profit, LTV, Net Sales, Total Sales |
Legacy session metrics
Shopify has removed session-based product metrics from its API. These metrics are now tagged (Legacy Shopify Plus) and no longer receive new data: View Sessions, Cart Sessions, Checkout Sessions, Purchase Sessions, and Quantity Added to Cart.
If your store was connected before April 1, 2025, you can still see historical data for them, broken down by Processed Date, Product ID, Product Title, Product Type, Store or Timezone. This data is per product, so compare it to Shopify's Product Insights page, not overall sessions.
If you connected after April 1, 2025, or weren't on Shopify Plus, this data isn't available.
To track sessions going forward, use the Polar Pixel. See Understanding Polar Pixel & Attribution.
Available dimensions
Group | Dimensions |
Order | Order id, Order number, Order line items, Order line properties, Order status url, Order tag, Order discount code, Order discount code amount, Order discount code type, Financial status, Fulfillment status, Fulfillment service, Is cancelled, Cancel reason, Is order edit, Is refund, Refund id, Is gift card, Is shipping required, Is taxable, Taxes included, Checkout token, Note, Reference, Payment gateway names, Processing method, Presentment currency, Shipping method, Purchase type, Source identifier, Device id, App id, Pos location name |
Dates | Date, Processed date, Processed timestamp, Updated date, Updated timestamp, Cancelled date, Cancelled timestamp |
Customer | Customer id, Customer email, Customer name, Customer locale, Customer tag, Customer total spent, Customer order number, Customer order segment, Customer first order date, Customer first order month, Customer first order timestamp, Customer first order product titles, Customer first order SKUs, Customer lifespan in days, Customer lifetime duration, Days since first order, Months since first order |
Product | Product id, Product title, Product type, Product status, Product tag, Product tags, Product image, Product titles in order, Variant id, Variant title, Sku, Skus in order, Vendor, Collection id, Collection handle, Collection title, Collection template suffix |
Inventory | Inventory is tracked, Inventory item id, Inventory level id, Inventory management, Inventory policy, Inventory location id, Inventory location city, Inventory location country, Inventory location country code, Inventory location province, Inventory location province code, Inventory location zip |
Billing & shipping location | Billing city, Billing country, Billing country code, Billing province, Billing province code, Billing zip, Shipping city, Shipping country, Shipping country code, Shipping province, Shipping province code, Shipping zip, Origin country code, Origin province code |
Marketing & attribution | Channel, Channel touchpoints, Campaign, Campaign touchpoints, Is paid channel, Utm source, Utm medium, Utm campaign, Utm campaign id, Utm content, Utm term, Utm ad id, Referring site, Referring source, Landing site base URL, Landing site ref, First order ga source, First order ga medium, First order ga campaign, Klaviyo acquisition channel, Click look back window in days |
Page | Page path, Page title, Page type, Page detail, Page origin, Page query, Page referrer, Page collection id, Page product id, Url |
Store & channel | Store, Store currency, Timezone, Sales channel, Expenses type |
Order Processed Date vs. Processed Date
Order Processed Date is when the original order was placed. Processed Date is when the most recent adjustment to it, such as a return or exchange, was processed. For orders with no adjustments, the two are the same. Use both in a Returns report to see how long customers typically wait before returning.
For how sales channel dimensions attribute returns and exchanges, see Shopify Sales Channels.
Common questions
Does Polar support Shopify POS data?
Yes. POS orders sync alongside online orders. Filter or break down by Sales Channel to see them separately.
How often does Polar sync Shopify data?
Depending on your plan, as often as every 15-30 minutes. See Data Syncs.
Will Polar affect the speed of my store?
No. Polar only pulls data from the Shopify API and never touches your storefront, theme, or ad accounts.
Can I use Polar with a headless store?
Yes, Polar is fully compatible with headless stores. For Pixel setup, see Troubleshooting the Polar Pixel integration on Headless Stores.
Can I filter Shopify metrics by metafields?
Not currently. Polar doesn't import metafields. However, most metafield information is also available in tags, which you can filter by in custom tables. To request metafield support, visit our Feature Request board.
Why can't I break down shipping costs by product?
Shopify records shipping at the order level, not the product level. Shipping metrics can only be broken down by order-level fields, such as Order ID or Order Tag.
What if my store isn't on Shopify?
Polar currently supports Shopify and Amazon Seller Central as store platforms. To request another platform, visit our Feature Request board.