Enabling the Polar App Embed

Last updated: November 6, 2026

The Polar App Embed helps the Polar Pixel credit more of your orders to the right marketing source. It's part of the Polar Shopify app, and you turn it on once in your Shopify theme.

What the App Embed does

Whenever a visitor's cart changes, the App Embed saves their Polar session details on the cart. This includes the Polar visitor and session IDs, UTM parameters and ad click IDs, such as Google's gclid. Shopify copies the cart's details onto the order.

This matters when a customer checks out somewhere the Polar Pixel can't run. The Pixel saw the visit but never sees the purchase, so the order would show as Undefined. With the App Embed on, the session details are already on the order, so Polar can still connect it to the visit.

Turn on the App Embed

  1. Open the Pixel setup page. You can also get there from the Connectors page or the Acquisition tab.

  2. Click Enable app embed. Your Shopify theme editor opens.

  3. Turn on the Polar app embed and click Save.

The Pixel setup page now shows App embed enabled.

If you switch to a new Shopify theme, check the setting again. App embeds are turned on per theme.

Headless stores

Headless storefronts, such as Hydrogen, Next.js or Remix, can't use the Shopify app embed. Your developer can add the same cart details with the Polar Pixel SDK (@polar-analytics/pixel-sdk) by calling generateCartAttribute() on every cart change. See the Cart Attribute Injection section of the SDK documentation and Troubleshooting the Polar Pixel on Headless Stores.

Check the effect

Give it a couple of weeks, then compare the share of Pixel orders with an Undefined channel before and after you turned it on. Ask Polar can do this for you. For example: "Show the share of my Polar Pixel orders with an Undefined channel by week for the last 8 weeks."

For other ways to improve attribution, see Understanding and Improving Your Polar Pixel Attribution Rate.

FAQs

Do I need the App Embed if the Polar Pixel is already installed?

Yes. The Pixel tracks visits and events. The App Embed carries that information onto the order, which the Pixel alone can't do for every checkout.

How can I check that an order carries Polar data?

In Shopify, open a recent online order and look under Additional details. Orders placed with the App Embed on show a polar_attr entry.