Your shop knows things the ad platforms do not. It knows who bought twice, who bought once and never came back, and who only ever bought the cheap thing. You can turn any of those into an audience and use it in your ads.
You need Shopify connected, editing rights, and someone at your company to have switched changes on.
Describing the group
First you describe who you mean, in the shop.
"Make a group for customers who bought more than once in the last three months."
You see the rule before it is saved. These groups can be changed or removed later.
Sending it to your ads
"Send that group to Meta and TikTok. Show me how big it is first."
Here is the part people want to know about. What the ad platform receives is the audience. What you see before approving is a single number: how many people are in it. Your customer records, their details and the rule itself do not travel through that preview.
What you do with it
Once the group exists on Meta or TikTok it behaves like any other audience:
Exclude your existing customers from campaigns aimed at new people. This is the most common gap in a retargeting setup and usually the first thing worth fixing.
Build a lookalike from your best customers rather than from everyone who ever bought, which is what most accounts do by default.
Target repeat buyers with something aimed at them specifically.
Give Performance Max a hint about who to look for, which is one of the few levers you have over that campaign type.
A setup that works
Make a group of everyone who has bought at least once.
Send it to Meta.
Add it as an exclusion on your campaigns aimed at new customers, so you stop paying to reach people who already bought.
Make a second group of your best repeat customers and use that one to build a lookalike.
Every step after the first shows you what it is doing before it does it.
While you are looking at the shop
One more question worth asking:
"Compare what the ad platforms say they sold last month with what the shop actually recorded."
These two numbers are never the same, and that is normal. What matters is knowing why, usually how long each platform claims credit for a sale, rather than splitting the difference and hoping.
What it will not do
It does not send anything without showing you first.
It does not send your customers' details to the ad platform through the preview. Only the size.
It does not send groups to Google Ads this way. Google audiences are built on the Google side.
It only does this with Shopify. Other shop platforms are connected for reporting, not for building groups.
It does not refresh the group on its own. Ask again when you want it updated.
When something looks wrong
What you see | Why | What to do |
The audience is smaller on Meta than in your shop | The platform could only match some of the people | This is normal and not something anyone can control. Match rates vary |
The group is empty | The rule is narrower than your shop data supports | Ask it to read the rule back, then widen the time window |
You cannot use it on Google Ads | This route goes to Meta and TikTok | Build the Google audience on the Google side |
You approved and nothing happened | The approval expired after 15 minutes | Ask again |
Common questions
Does my customer data go to Meta?
What you approve is an audience and its size. Individual records, their details and the rule do not go through that preview.
Which platforms can I send to?
Meta and TikTok.
Does it stay up to date automatically?
No. Ask again when you want it refreshed.
Can I use this to stop advertising to existing customers?
Yes, and it is the most common reason people set it up.
Still need help?
Message us in the app or write to support@orphex.co. Never share your password or an access key with anyone, including us.