Setup Guide

Connect Your Shopify Store to Ainfluencer: The Step-by-Step Guide

Everything you need to link your Shopify store — how to find your store URL, what permissions Ainfluencer needs, and what to expect at each step. Takes about 90 seconds if you already know your URL.

Before You Start

  • An active Shopify store — any plan works, including the free trial.
  • An Ainfluencer seller account on seller.ainfluencer.com. Free to create.
  • Admin access to your Shopify store (Owner or Staff with “Apps” permission).
  • Your Shopify store URL. If you’re not sure what this is, we cover it in Step 2 below.
1
Platform
2
Authenticate
3
Sync
Step 1 of 3

Choose Shopify as your platform

From your Ainfluencer seller dashboard, click Connect Shopify or Amazon on the setup banner or the Products tab. In the platform picker, choose Shopify.

Connect Store × 1 Platform 2 Authenticate 3 Sync Choose where your products live S Shopify DTC store ✓ Real-time sync of products, prices, and orders. a Amazon Seller Central Attribute sales across 7 marketplaces. Continue →

The platform picker — click Shopify to move to Step 2.

This opens the Connect Shopify Store modal — a 3-step wizard: Platform → Authenticate → Sync. The Platform step is now complete (checkmark). You’re on Step 2.

If you also sell on Amazon, connect Shopify first and Amazon second. Each store is a separate connection with its own tracking — see Connecting Amazon.
Step 2 of 3 · The Big One

Find your Shopify store URL

The modal asks for your Shopify store URL in the format mystore.myshopify.com. This is the internal Shopify subdomain — not your custom domain (like mycoolshop.com), even if that’s what your customers use.

Connect Shopify Store × ✓ Platform 2 Authenticate 3 Sync S Connect your Shopify store Enter your store URL below and you’ll be redirected to Shopify to approve access. Your Shopify store URL mystore.myshopify.com Enter your store’s .myshopify.com subdomain. You’ll find it in your Shopify admin. ? NOT SURE WHERE TO FIND IT? Watch how-to video 90 sec walkthrough Read step-by-step guide Find your store URL ← YOU ARE HERE ACCESS PERMISSIONS ✓ Read your product catalog ✓ Read orders and sales data ✓ Manage affiliate tracking links ✕ No access to billing or payment info ← Back Cancel Connect to Shopify →

The full Connect Shopify Store modal. You landed here because you clicked “Read step-by-step guide” (highlighted).

What we need: mystore.myshopify.com
Not: https://mycoolshop.com · www.mycoolshop.com · mystore (missing .myshopify.com)

Three ways to find it

Fastest

Method A — Check your browser bar

Log in to your Shopify admin. Look at the URL in your browser — it starts with https://admin.shopify.com/store/your-store-name. The bold part is your store handle. Add .myshopify.com to it.

Reliable

Method B — Settings → Domains

In Shopify admin: Settings → Domains. Look for the entry labeled “Shopify domain” — it’s always something.myshopify.com. Copy that entire string. Ignore custom domains.

If Logged Out

Method C — From your login page

Go to accounts.shopify.com and sign in. On the store picker page, hover over your store — the URL preview at the bottom of the browser shows the .myshopify.com address.

https://admin.shopify.com/store/ mystore Shopify Admin Dashboard

Method A — Your store handle appears in the URL bar. Add .myshopify.com to it.

SETTINGS General Plan Billing Domains Payments Checkout Locations Apps Domains SHOPIFY DOMAIN mystore.myshopify.com Primary Shopify domain (this is what you need) CUSTOM DOMAINS mycoolshop.com Public Copy this one — the one ending in .myshopify.com

Method B — In Shopify admin under Settings → Domains. Copy the “Shopify domain” entry (not the custom one).

accounts.shopify.com Choose a store S My Cool Shop Owner · Active Open → Another Store Staff · Active Preview: https://admin.shopify.com/store/mystore

Method C — Hover over a store card and check the URL preview at the browser’s bottom bar.

Common formatting mistakes

  • Adding https:// — just enter mystore.myshopify.com. The https:// is automatic.
  • Adding www. — Shopify subdomains don’t use www. Drop it.
  • Using your custom domain — mycoolshop.com won’t work here even if it’s your public storefront. You need the internal .myshopify.com address.
  • Trailing slashes or paths — drop /admin, /products, or any trailing /.
  • Uppercase letters — Shopify handles are always lowercase.
Have multiple Shopify stores? You’ll connect each one separately from within Ainfluencer. Each store gets its own product catalog, commissions, and affiliate program — see Shopify Account Differences.

Enter it and click “Connect to Shopify”

Once you have the URL in the correct format, paste it into the input field and click the purple Connect to Shopify → button. You’ll be redirected to Shopify to authorize.

Step 3 of 3 · Authorize

Approve access on Shopify

After clicking Connect to Shopify, you’re redirected to your Shopify admin. Shopify shows an app permissions screen listing exactly what Ainfluencer will be allowed to do inside your store.

Shopify mystore.myshopify.com A Ainfluencer by ainfluencer.com ✓ Built for Shopify Ainfluencer will be able to: ✓ View products, collections, inventory ✓ View orders, sales, and analytics ✓ Create and manage discount codes ✓ Manage marketing events (tracking links) By clicking Install app, you agree to the Ainfluencer terms of service and privacy policy. Cancel Install app

Shopify’s authorization screen. Click Install app to grant access and return to Ainfluencer.

Review the permissions (detailed below), then click Install app or Approve. Shopify redirects you back to Ainfluencer where the third step — Sync — kicks off automatically.

What Ainfluencer can and cannot access

This is the permission list you’ll see on both the Ainfluencer modal and the Shopify authorization screen:

✓ Read your product catalog — names, images, prices, variants, stock levels.
✓ Read orders and sales data — for attributing affiliate commissions to the right creator.
✓ Manage affiliate tracking links — generate unique tracking links + discount codes per affiliate.
✕ No access to billing or payment info — we can’t see or modify your card details, plan, or Shopify subscription.
These permissions are the minimum required for affiliate tracking to work. We deliberately don’t ask for write access to your product catalog or customer data — read-only wherever possible. See Privacy, Data & Security.
After Authorize

Watch your catalog sync

Once you approve on Shopify, the modal advances to Step 3: Sync. This is fully automatic — no clicks required.

Syncing your store… × ✓ Platform ✓ Authenticate 3 Sync S mystore.myshopify.com Connected · Syncing catalog Syncing 247 products… 42% complete ✓ Products fetched (247 of 247) ◐ Images loading (104 of 247) ○ Applying default commission rates

Sync progress screen. Estimated time depends on your catalog size — see below.

What happens during sync

  1. Ainfluencer pulls your full product catalog: titles, images, prices, variants, stock levels, and Shopify collections.
  2. Products with Inactive or Out of Stock status are marked accordingly (they won’t appear as promotable to affiliates until back in stock).
  3. Your default commission rate (25% on Free plan, custom on paid plans) is applied to every product.
  4. The catalog becomes available under the Products tab of your seller dashboard, ready for per-product commission tuning.

How long it takes

Small stores (under 100 SKUs): ~30 seconds. Mid-sized stores (100-1,000 SKUs): 1-3 minutes. Large catalogs (10,000+ SKUs): can take up to 15 minutes. The dashboard shows a live progress indicator; you don’t need to keep the tab open.

If Shopify updates a product later (new SKU, price change, stock change), Ainfluencer receives the update via webhook — usually within seconds. No manual re-sync needed.
If Something Goes Wrong

Troubleshooting common errors

“Store not found” or “Invalid URL”

Almost always a URL formatting issue. Double-check: no https://, no www., no trailing /, no /admin, all lowercase, and the domain ends in .myshopify.com. Re-check with Method B (Settings → Domains).

“Access denied” on Shopify

Your Shopify account doesn’t have the “Apps” permission. If you’re a Staff account, ask the Owner to either grant you the permission or complete the connection themselves. Owner accounts always have permission by default.

Redirected but nothing happens after approving

Browser extensions (ad blockers, script blockers) can interfere with the redirect. Try in an incognito window with extensions disabled. If it still stalls, contact [email protected] with the Shopify store URL.

Some products don’t show up after sync

Products marked Inactive in Shopify are skipped by design. So are products where the Ainfluencer sales channel isn’t enabled. In Shopify: check Sales channels in the product editor. See the Connecting Shopify hub for the full missing-products checklist.

Wrong currency displayed

Known display issue when Shopify’s primary store currency differs from your seller-country setting. Fix: in Shopify Admin → Settings → Markets, confirm the primary currency matches. If it persists, message support with two affected SKUs.

How do I disconnect Shopify later?

Two paths. From Ainfluencer: seller dashboard → My Brands → three-dot menu on the Shopify card → Disconnect. From Shopify: Settings → Apps and sales channels → Ainfluencer → Uninstall. Either way, affiliate tracking stops immediately for that store.

You’re Connected

What to do after connecting

Now that Shopify is wired up, the fastest path to your first affiliate sale:

  1. Set commission rates — per product or bulk. See Commissions & Affiliate Payouts.
  2. Connect your Stripe payout card so you can actually pay affiliates their earnings.
  3. Publish your affiliate landing page — pick a template, share the link and QR code.
  4. Invite affiliates — search the marketplace and bulk-invite creators that match your niche.
  5. Launch a campaign — Affiliate, Paid Collaboration, Hybrid, or Product Gifting & Seeding.

For the full walkthrough of the seller side end to end, read Ainfluencer Affiliate Side: The Ultimate Platform Tour.

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Ready to connect your store?

Open your seller dashboard, click Connect Shopify, and you’ll be back with a synced catalog in under 3 minutes.

Open Seller Dashboard Book a Free Demo Contact Support
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