Overview
Connecting your Shopify store to Polar Analytics unlocks powerful ecommerce tracking and reporting. This integration allows you to centralize your sales, customer, and product data — giving you deeper visibility into performance and enabling smarter decisions. Without this connection, Polar cannot ingest your ecommerce data, meaning critical dashboards and reports won’t populate.
This article covers:
How to connect your Shopify store to Polar
Key Shopify metrics and how Polar interprets them
Common issues & troubleshooting
Tips for getting the most from your Shopify data
Section 1: Connecting Shopify to Polar Analytics
What You’ll Need to Get Started
Before connecting:
Admin access to your Shopify store
Your Shopify store URL in the format
storename.myshopify.comAn active Polar Analytics account, logged in at the time of setup
Shopify permission details here
Step-by-Step Connection Guide
Open Polar and Go to Connectors
In the Polar dashboard, open Connectors.Find Shopify and Configure
Click Configure beside Shopify.Enter Your Shopify Domain
Input your store domain (e.g.,mystore.myshopify.com).Authorize via OAuth
Shopify will prompt you to authorize Polar — click Install/Authorize.Wait for Sync
Initial syncing can take up to 24 hours depending on your data size. You’ll receive an email when complete.
💡 Pro Tip: You can connect multiple Shopify stores at no additional cost — just repeat the above steps for each.
Section 2: Shopify Metrics in Polar — What They Mean & How They’re Used
Once connected, Polar begins ingesting a variety of Shopify data points. Polar mirrors Shopify’s definitions where possible but also enhances them for deeper insights.
Core Shopify Metrics
Here are a few key metrics and how Polar defines them:
Metric | Definition |
Gross Sales | Total product price × quantity before discounts or returns |
Discounts | Total 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 |
📌 Important: Shopify treats gift cards as liabilities and excludes them from its sales figures. Polar includes gift card revenue by default to give a more complete revenue picture, and this setting is configurable from the Data Settings page.
Raw vs Computed Metrics
Polar brings in raw Shopify metrics (e.g., orders, customers, returns) and computes derived KPIs like:
Average Order Value (AOV)
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
Repeat Customer Metrics
Profit & Margin Calculations
These metrics help you evaluate performance beyond what’s available in basic Shopify reports. You can see how a metric is calculated by hovering over the information icon, ⓘ.
Section 3: Troubleshooting & Best Practices
Common Issues and Fixes
Data hasn’t synced after 24 hours
Ensure the Shopify connector is marked “connected” in Polar.
Try re-authorizing the connection.
Contact support with your workspace name and store URL.
Data doesn’t appear on your dashboard
Confirm sync completion.
Check date filters (e.g., set to Last 30 Days or All Time).
Numbers don’t match Shopify exactly
Shopify and Polar use slightly different formulas and inclusions.
For example, how returns, tax, and shipping are treated can vary between systems.
Check the Troubleshooting Data Discrepancies between Shopify and Polar guide for specific steps.
Differences You Should Know
Because Shopify’s API and reporting logic sometimes differ from Polar’s definitions, it’s normal to see small discrepancies. For example:
Polar may include tax and duties differently than Shopify’s standard reports.
Shopify session data isn’t pulled via API anymore — if you need session-based tracking, consider setting up the Polar Pixel for richer behavior analytics.
Metrics & Dimensions
To have access to the full list of available metrics and dimensions for Shopify, you can check using the Custom Table builder.
Available Metrics
Available Metrics
RAW (taken directly from Shopify)
Avg time between orders (days)
Avg time between orders (hours)
Cost of Products (COGs)
Current Inventory Quantity (Snapshot)
Discounts
Expenses
Gross Sales
Net Product Quantity
New Cost of Products
New Customer Orders
New Customers
New Discounts
New Gross Sales
New Returns
New Shipping
New Shipping Pre Refunds
New Tax
New Tax Pre Refunds
New Tips
New Total Costs
Product Quantity
Repeat Cost of Products
Repeat Customer Orders
Repeat Customers
Repeat Discounts
Repeat Gross Sales
Repeat Returns
Repeat Shipping
Repeat Shipping Pre Refunds
Repeat Tax
Repeat Tax Pre Refunds
Repeat Tips
Repeat Total Costs
Returned Orders
Returned Product Quantity
Returns
Shipping
Shipping Pre Refunds
Shipping Refunds
Tax
Tax Pre Refunds
Tax Refunds
Tips
Total Costs
Total Customers
Total Orders
Total Refunds
30 Day Cost of products
30 Day Customers
30 Day Discounts
30 Day Gross Sales
30 Day Orders
30 Day Returns
30 Day Shipping
30 Day Tax
30 Day Tips
30 Day Total Costs
60 Day Cost of products
60 Day Customers
60 Day Discounts
60 Day Gross Sales
60 Day Orders
60 Day Returns
60 Day Shipping
60 Day Tax
60 Day Tips
60 Day Total Costs
90 Day Cost of products
90 Day Customers
90 Day Discounts
90 Day Gross Sales
90 Day Orders
90 Day Returns
90 Day Shipping
90 Day Tax
90 Day Tips
90 Day Total Costs
180 Day Cost of products
180 Day Customers
180 Day Discounts
180 Day Gross Sales
180 Day Orders
180 Day Returns
180 Day Shipping
180 Day Tax
180 Day Tips
180 Day Total Costs
360 Day Cost of products
360 Day Customers
360 Day Discounts
360 Day Gross Sales
360 Day Orders
360 Day Returns
360 Day Shipping
360 Day Tax
360 Day Tips
360 Day Total Costs
COMPUTED (calculated from raw metrics based on Shopify definitions)
Average Order Value
CM1
CM1 %
CM2
CM2 %
Gross Margin
Gross Margin (net of expenses)
Gross Profit
Gross Profit (net of expenses)
LTV
Net Profit
Net Sales
New Average Order Value
New Customer %
New Sales
New Sales %
Purchase Frequency
Repeat Average Order Value
Repeat Customer %
Repeat Sales
Repeat Sales %
Total Sales
30 Day Gross Profit
30 Day LTV
30 Day Net Sales
30 Day Total Sales
60 Day Gross Profit
60 Day LTV
60 Day Net Sales
60 Day Total Sales
90 Day Gross Profit
90 Day LTV
90 Day Net Sales
90 Day Total Sales
180 Day Gross Profit
180 Day LTV
180 Day Net Sales
180 Day Total Sales
360 Day Gross Profit
360 Day LTV
360 Day Net Sales
360 Day Total Sales
Legacy Metrics (these metrics have been removed from Shopify's API - users connected to Polar before April 1st, 2025 can still access historical data)
View Sessions (Legacy Shopify Plus)
Purchase Sessions (Legacy Shopify Plus)Cart Sessions (Legacy Shopify Plus)
Checkout Sessions (Legacy Shopify Plus)
Quantity Added To Cart (Legacy Shopify Plus)
Available Dimensions
Available Dimensions
App id
Billing city
Billing country
Billing country code
Billing province
Billing province code
Billing zip
Campaign
Campaign touchpoints
Cancel reason
Cancelled date
Cancelled timestamp
Channel
Channel touchpoints
Checkout token
Collection handle
Collection id
Collection template suffix
Collection title
Customer email
Customer first order date
Customer first order month
Customer first order product titles
Customer first order SKUs
Customer first order timestamp
Customer id
Customer lifespan in days
Customer lifetime duration
Customer locale
Customer name
Customer order number
Customer order segment
Customer tag
Customer total spent
Date
Days since first order
Device id
Expenses type
Financial status
Click look back window in days
First order ga campaign
First order ga medium
First order ga source
Fulfillment service
Fulfillment status
Inventory is tracked
Inventory item id
Inventory level id
Inventory location city
Inventory location country
Inventory location country code
Inventory location id
Inventory location province
Inventory location province code
Inventory location zip
Inventory management
Inventory policy
Is cancelled
Is gift card
Is order edit
Is paid channel
Is refund
Is shipping required
Is taxable
Klaviyo acquisition channel
Landing site base URL
Landing site ref
Months since first order
Note
Order discount code
Order discount code amount
Order discount code type
Order id
Order line items
Order line properties
Order number
Order status url
Order tag
Origin country code
Origin province code
Page collection id
Page detail
Page origin
Page path
Page product id
Page query
Page referrer
Page title
Page type
Payment gateway names
Pos location name
Presentment currency
Processed date
Processed timestamp
Processing method
Product id
Product image
Product status
Product tag
Product tags
Product title
Product titles in order
Product type
Purchase type
Reference
Referring site
Referring source
Refund id
Sales channel
Shipping city
Shipping country
Shipping country code
Shipping method
Shipping province
Shipping province code
Shipping zip
Sku
Skus in order
Source identifier
Store
Store currency
Taxes included
Timezone
Updated date
Updated timestamp
Url
Utm ad id
Utm campaign
Utm campaign id
Utm content
Utm medium
Utm source
Utm term
Variant id
Variant title
Vendor
FAQ
Can I connect more than one Shopify store?
Can I connect more than one Shopify store?
Yes, you can connect to multiple stores in Polar at no extra cost.
Can I backfill historical Shopify data?
Can I backfill historical Shopify data?
Yes. Upon first connection, Polar automatically backfills your store's data history as far as Shopify allows.
Does Polar support Shopify POS data?
Does Polar support Shopify POS data?
Yes, orders placed through Shopify POS sync alongside online orders in your dashboards you can see a breakdown or filter by Sales Channel to see your POS orders.
How often does Polar sync Shopify data?
How often does Polar sync Shopify data?
Depending on your plan Polar syncs Shopify data every 15 minutes. Learn more about this here: Data Syncs
What if my store is on a platform different from Shopify?
What if my store is on a platform different from Shopify?
At this time we only work with Shopify and Amazon Seller Central.
If you would like to request additional platforms our Product team would love to hear from you! Please visit our Feature Request board, and we will alert you if/when we add this platform to our integrations.
Will Polar affect the speed of my store?
Will Polar affect the speed of my store?
No, Polar does not impact the speed of your store. We are only pulling data from the Shopify API and will never touch your storefront, theme, or ad accounts.
Can I filter my Shopify metrics by Metafields?
Can I filter my Shopify metrics by Metafields?
At this time, Polar does pull in Metafields so it is not possible to filter or break down Shopify metrics by Metafields. However, most Metafields can be found in tags, which Polar does enable you to filter by in Custom Reports.
If you would like to request metafields our Product team would love to hear from you! Please visit our Feature Request board, and we will alert you if/when we add this dimension to Polar.
Can I use Polar if my store is headless?
Can I use Polar if my store is headless?
Yes, Polar is fully compatible with headless stores.
What Shopify permissions are required to connect a client’s Shopify store?
What Shopify permissions are required to connect a client’s Shopify store?
To successfully connect your client’s Shopify store to Polar Analytics, you’ll need the appropriate permissions within their Shopify admin.
Required Permissions:
The most critical permission is:
Manage and install apps and channels (this is essential to install the Polar Analytics app)
In addition, we recommend having the following permissions enabled to ensure complete data access:
Home
Orders → Edit orders
Draft orders
Products
Gift cards
Customers
Reports
Dashboards
Discounts
Having these permissions ensures that Polar can retrieve all necessary data to build comprehensive dashboards and reports. You can learn more about Shopify permissions here.
Why is my conversion rate in Shopify different from Polar?
Why is my conversion rate in Shopify different from Polar?
Shopify and Polar use different formulas to calculate conversion rate, which leads to discrepancies between the two.
Polar’s “Shopify Conversion Rate” = Total Orders (from Shopify) ÷ Sessions (from Google Analytics)
Example: 280 orders ÷ 8000 sessions = 3.5%Shopify’s “Online Store Conversion Rate” = Sessions Converted ÷ Sessions (both from Shopify)
Example: 250 converted sessions ÷ 8500 sessions = 2.94%
Shopify counts sessions and conversions differently than Google Analytics, and “Sessions Converted” can undercount when multiple orders happen in one session.
At this time Shopify does not release sessions data via their API. Most brands prefer Polar’s calculation as it offers a clearer view of how many visits actually drive orders.
Why can’t I break down shipping costs by product in Polar?
Why can’t I break down shipping costs by product in Polar?
Shipping costs are defined at the order level in Shopify—not at the product level.
As a result, shipping metrics in Polar can’t be broken down by product-level fields like Product Title or Product Type. Instead, they can only be segmented by order-level fields, such as Order ID or Order Tag.
Conclusion
Connecting Shopify to Polar Analytics empowers you with a centralized, accurate, and actionable view of your ecommerce performance. From sales trends and product throughput to customer behavior and profitability, Polar expands your ability to analyze growth and make informed decisions.