Since eCommerce software providers can only access data from clients’ e-stores if connected to the platform they are based on, they integrate with them. One of the most popular shopping platforms among online sellers is Shopify. To access the online stores built on this platform, software vendors need to connect to its API (application programming interface). The Shopify API helps them manage various store data types for their needs.
Shopify is a leading eCommerce platform that currently powers more than 4 million online stores. It is highly popular in the United States (2,800,000+ stores), the United Kingdom (185,000+ stores), Australia (131,000+ stores), and Canada (105,000+ stores). As many B2B software vendors work with Shopify-powered merchants to help them organize and get more out of their online stores, it's clear that there's a large customer bank here for them to tap into.
In this article, we will explore the Shopify API. We'll also show you how to implement a Shopify Order API integration and access all data related to Shopify order details.
Shopify API Meaning and Main Features
An application programming interface (API) is a set of definitions, protocols, and tools for building and integrating applications.
APIs can let your product or service communicate with other products and services without having to know the details of how they work.
The Shopify API acts as a middleman between Shopify and other programs, helping establish connections.
Using the Shopify API, eCommerce software vendors can access data about customers, orders, categories, and products from online stores built on this eCommerce platform.
The Shopify API has the following features:
- Shopify API supports two data-exchange formats: XML and JSON
- The API accepts HTTP requests using the GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE methods
- The Shopify API provides a way to retrieve and manipulate Orders, Customers, Categories, Products, and other entities. Each method has a specific purpose in fulfilling conditions
- Shopify frequently releases updates to its API. Software vendors who have integrated with Shopify must keep their software up-to-date with each release of the API
- An update to the Shopify API can cause difficulties for developers because it is difficult to extract data from the eCommerce platform
Shopify Order API: What Order Data Can Be Retrieved
Order data from eCommerce platforms like Shopify can be used for a range of purposes.
Order data retrieved from eCommerce platforms may include the following:
- Online store customer information includes the names, last names, IDs, email addresses, and phone numbers of customers
- Billing and shipping addresses, including postcodes, phone numbers, location, and website (if any)
- Payment and shipping methods
- The ordered product information, such as order ID, name, price, and quantity
Features That Can Be Implemented with Imported Order Data
The following are some of the most popular software features that deal with order data: inventory synchronization, order status notification, product recommendations, and more.
Online merchants need real-time inventory synchronization to ensure that their product inventories match those of their sales channels. Software should be integrated with shopping platforms and marketplaces and must be capable of importing order data and syncing product information across different sales channels.
Sending personalized emails to e-store customers is one of the marketing automation solutions. Marketing automation software can send customized messages to customers based on order, customer, and product data. Such messages could include information about new products or discounts, as well as product recommendations or notifications of abandoned shopping carts.
Software vendors, such as eCommerce marketing automation software and cart abandonment software, need to provide customers with notifications regarding the status of their orders. So, they also require the usage of order data retrieved from platforms like Shopify.
How to Develop Shopify Order API Integration Fast
Implementing Shopify integration requires a variety of resources, including time and money. Additionally, there are costs involved at every stage of the process: hiring specialized developers, setting up infrastructure, developing integrations, and ensuring that the maintenance and upgrades are carried out seamlessly.
You can choose to develop the integration with your developers' team, or you can hire freelance developers. If you want to save money and time and don't care about further support of the integration, you can use a third-party integration service like API2Cart. It provides a unified API that allows software vendors to integrate their systems with 40+ eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, including Shopify.
How to Get Order Data from Shopify Stores
API2Cart provides a robust set of API methods to work with orders, products, prices, customers, and other data.
For example, you can import orders from Shopify by using the following options:
- Webhook for order.add event
- Order.list method
To be notified each time a new order is placed, set up a webhook for the order.add event. Webhooks are more effective than APIs because they reduce server load and eliminate the need to send frequent requests to an API for updated information.
The order.list method allows you to track new orders easily. Moreover, this method allows filtering orders by their id, store id, customer id, order status, order id and time parameters such as create_from and modified_from.
Here is the response structure of this method:
{
"return_code": 0,
"return_message": "",
"pagination": {
"previous": null,
"next": "BcHdEkJAGADQB3Kx2NXOXrjIWNpaJTIadzYj7PipL4Wn7xwmBbQQVeroU9nVsQd66LzNiW08zpkocy%2FgWmeEvIZ%2Bl1jfW35anTVtjKCXzLe2dHl%2FpiYwC7JGpn9JEAspAk5HUvKlrFQv2gMQVJ%2FjWybQjH6KIcyUKLDBHvfBxim1AUKqqeYEi6ec9qS9uu4f"
},
"result": {
"orders_count": 1,
"order": [
{
"id": "000000001",
"order_id": "1",
"basket_id": null,
"channel_id": null,
"customer": {
"id": "1",
"email": "[email protected]",
"first_name": "John",
"last_name": "Smith",
"phone": null
},
"create_at": {
"value": "2019-12-20T13:48:19+0000",
"format": "Y-m-d\\TH:i:sO"
},
"currency": {
"id": "USD",
"name": "US Dollar",
"iso3": "USD",
"symbol_left": "$",
"symbol_right": "",
"rate": 1,
"avail": true,
"default": true
},
"shipping_address": {
"id": "2",
"type": "shipping",
"first_name": "John",
"last_name": "Smith",
"postcode": "12345",
"address1": "Green str.35",
"address2": "",
"phone": "",
"city": "Chicago",
"country": {
"code2": "US",
"code3": "USA",
"name": "United States of America"
},
"state": {
"code": "IL",
"name": "Illinois"
},
"company": "",
"fax": "",
"website": null,
"gender": null,
"region": null,
"default": false,
"additional_fields": {
"prefix": "",
"suffix": "",
"middlename": "",
"tax_id": null
}
},
"billing_address": {
"id": "1",
"type": "billing",
"first_name": "John",
"last_name": "Smith",
"postcode": "12345",
"address1": "Green str.35",
"address2": "",
"phone": "",
"city": "Chicago",
"country": {
"code2": "US",
"code3": "USA",
"name": "United States of America"
},
"state": {
"code": "IL",
"name": "Illinois"
},
"company": "",
"fax": "",
"website": null,
"gender": null,
"region": null,
"default": false,
"additional_fields": {
"prefix": "",
"suffix": "",
"middlename": "",
"tax_id": null
}
},
"payment_method": {
"name": "checkmo",
"additional_fields": {
"additional_payment_info": null
}
},
"shipping_method": {
"name": "UPS Ground",
"additional_fields": {
"code": "custom_custom",
"provider_code": "custom"
}
},
"shipping_methods": [
{
"name": "UPS Ground",
"additional_fields": {
"code": "custom_custom",
"provider_code": "custom"
}
}
],
"status": {
"id": "complete",
"name": "Complete",
"history": [
{
"id": "complete",
"name": "Complete",
"modified_time": {
"value": "2019-12-20T13:48:19+0000",
"format": "Y-m-d\\TH:i:sO"
},
"notify": true,
"comment": "Reference order #000000001
Payment method:checkmo
Shipping method: UPS Ground
Complete
"
}
],
"refund_info": null
},
"totals": {
"total": 9,
"subtotal": 10.5,
"shipping": 0,
"tax": 0,
"discount": 0,
"additional_fields": {
"hidden_tax": 0
}
},
"total": {
"subtotal_ex_tax": 10.5,
"wrapping_ex_tax": null,
"shipping_ex_tax": 0,
"total_discount": 0,
"total_tax": 0,
"total": 9,
"total_paid": 9,
"additional_fields": {
"shipping_discount_ex_tax": 0,
"subtotal_discount_ex_tax": 0,
"tax_discount": 0,
"subtotal_tax": 0,
"wrapping_tax": null,
"shipping_tax": 0
}
},
"discounts": [],
"order_products": [
{
"product_id": "5",
"order_product_id": "1",
"model": "sku_1",
"name": "Product1",
"price": 1.5,
"price_inc_tax": 1.5,
"quantity": 7,
"discount_amount": 0,
"total_price": 10.5,
"tax_percent": 0,
"tax_value": 0,
"tax_value_after_discount": 0,
"options": [
{
"option_id": 0,
"name": "Color",
"value": "mint green",
"price": 0,
"weight": 0,
"type": null,
"product_option_value_id": null
}
],
"variant_id": null,
"weight_unit": null,
"weight": 0,
"barcode": null,
"parent_order_product_id": null
}
],
"bundles": [],
"modified_at": {
"value": "2019-12-20T13:48:19+0000",
"format": "Y-m-d\\TH:i:sO"
},
"finished_time": null,
"comment": "",
"store_id": "1",
"warehouses_ids": [],
"refunds": [],
"gift_message": null,
"additional_fields": {
"base_currency_code": "USD"
}
}
]
}
}
If you want to check all API2Cart API methods supported for working with Shopify data, you can explore API Docs.
If you want to get more detailed information about all capabilities of API2Cart that allows you to work with Shopify Order data, please contact our managers by chat or phone.
