Power BI Shopify Connector

In this article you will learn how to integrate Shopify data to Power BI without coding in just a few clicks (live / bi-directional connection to Shopify). Shopify Connector can be used to integrate Shopify REST API in your App / BI Tools. You can read/write data about Customers, Orders, OrderItems, Products and more..

Using Shopify Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within Power BI. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that.

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Video Tutorial - Integrate Shopify data in Power BI

This video covers following and more so watch carefully. After watching this video follow the steps described in this article.

  • How to download / install required driver for Shopify integration in Power BI
  • How to configure connection for Shopify
  • Features about API Driver (Authentication / Query Language / Examples / Driver UI)
  • Using Shopify Connection in Power BI

Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

To get data from Shopify using Power BI we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from Shopify. We will later be able to read data using Power BI. Perform these steps:

  1. Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack.

  2. Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
    Open ODBC Data Source

  3. Create a User Data Source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver

    ZappySys API Driver
    Create new System DSN for ZappySys API Driver
    You should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version.
  4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Shopify" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Shopify" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

    ShopifyDSN
    Shopify
    ODBC DSN Template Selection

  5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

    Steps to get Shopify Credentials : Access Token [Http]
    Setting up your Shopify store account for API access involves creating an "app" for your store. The "app" is installed into the Shopify account and configured with the appropriate access levels for your data integration needs.
    1. Visit https://accounts.shopify.com and log into your Shopify store account.
    2. After logging in, select the store to connect to with the ZappySys Shopify Connector.
    3. Select the Settings link (usually in the lower-left corner) to launch the Settings screen.
    4. On the left menu panel, select Apps and sales channels.
    5. On the Apps and sales channels screen, select Develop apps (near the top of the screen).
    6. On the App development screen, select Create an app (near the upper-right corner of the screen).
    7. Give the app that will be used to provide Shopify API access a name, select the appropriate developer from the App developer drop-down, and then select Create app.
    8. Select Configure Admin API scopes and the Admin API access scopes screen will appear.
    9. In the Admin API access scopes screen, select every access scope checkbox that applies to your integration needs. It is generally not a good idea to allow more access than what is needed in order to fulfill your integration needs.
      • To enable the reading of customer information, select read_customers.
      • To enable the writing of customer information, select write_customers.
      • To enable the reading of inventory item information, select read_inventory.
      • To enable the writing of inventory item information, select write_inventory.
      • To enable the reading of order information, select read_orders.
      • To enable the writing of order information, select write_orders.
      After selecting all applicable access scopes, select Save.
    10. Install the app by selecting the Install app button (near the upper-right corner of the screen). If any other prompts for installation appears, select Install.
    11. After the app is installed, the Admin API access token will be available in the API credentials tab of the page. It can only be revealed ONCE for security purposes. Select Reveal token once to show the new Admin API access token. SAVE THE ADMIN API ACCESS TOKEN IN A SAFE PLACE WHERE YOU HAVE IT CONFIDENTIAL, SECURE, AND NOT ACCESSIBLE TO UNAUTHORIZED INDIVIDUALS. The Admin API access token will be needed in this process later.
    12. In the ZappySys connector API screen, enter the subdomain of your Shopify store into the Subdomain parameter textbox. For example, if your Shopify URL is https://acmetoys.myshopify.com, the subdomain would be acmetoys.
    13. In the same screen, enter the Admin API access token saved from step 11 above into the Admin API Access Token textbox. In order to edit the text in this field, select the ellipses (...) button that appears when the textbox is clicked and edit the access token with the dialog box that appears.
    14. Select the Test Connection button at the bottom of the window to verify proper connectivity with the Shopify store.
    15. If the connection test succeeds, select OK.

    Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:

    ShopifyDSN
    Shopify
    Access Token [Http]
    https://[$Subdomain$].myshopify.com/admin/api/2023-01
    Required Parameters
    Sub-domain Fill in the parameter...
    Admin API Access Token Fill in the parameter...
    Optional Parameters
    RetryMode Fill in the parameter...
    RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter...
    RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter...
    RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter...
    ODBC DSN HTTP Connection Configuration

  6. Once the data source has been configured, you can preview data. Select the Preview tab and use settings similar to the following to preview data:
    ODBC ZappySys Data Source Preview

  7. Click OK to finish creating the data source.

Read Shopify data in Power BI from ODBC

  1. Once you open Power BI Desktop click Get Data to get data from ODBC:
    Power Bi Get Data

  2. A window opens, and then search for "odbc" to get data from ODBC data source:
    Power Bi ODBC Get Data

  3. Another window opens and asks to select a Data Source we already created. Choose ShopifyDSN and continue:

    ShopifyDSN
    Power Bi Select ZappySys Driver DSN

  4. Most likely, you will be asked to authenticate to a newly created DSN. Just select Windows authentication option together with Use my current credentials option:

    ShopifyDSN
    Power Bi DSN Authenticaation

  5. Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
    Power Bi Load DSN Table Data

  6. Finally, use data extracted from Shopify API in Power BI reports:
    Power Bi Extracted DSN Table Data

Import Shopify data into Power BI from SQL Query

If you wish to import Shopify data from SQL query rather than selecting table name then you can use advanced options during import steps (as below). After selecting DSN you can click on advanced options to see SQL Query editor.

Import Shopify data into Power BI using SQL Query (ODBC Data source)

Import Shopify data into Power BI using SQL Query (ODBC Data source)

Edit Query / Using Parameters in Power BI (Dynamic Query)

In the real world, many values of your REST / SOAP API call may be coming from Parameters. If that's the case for you can try to edit script manually as below. In below example its calling SQL Query with POST method and passing some parameters. Notice below where paraAPIKey is Power BI Parameter (string type). You can use parameters anywhere in your script just like the normal variable.

Import REST API in Power BI - Using parameters in SQL Query (Edit code - Advanced Mode)

 

let
    vKey=paraAPIKey,
    Source = Odbc.Query(
    "dsn=ZS-OData Customers", 
    "SELECT * FROM value WITH (SRC='http://httpbin.org/post'," 
    & "METHOD='POST'," 
    & "HEADER='Content-Type:application/json'," 
    & "BODY=@'{""CallerId"":1111, ""ApiKey"":""" & vKey & """}')")
in
Source

Edit Query Settings after Import

There will be a time you need to change initial Query after dataset import in Power BI. Not to worry, just follow these steps to edit your SQL.

Edit Power BI Data Source SQL after SOAP Web Service Import

Edit Power BI Data Source SQL after REST / SOAP Web Service Import

Using DirectQuery Option rather than Import

So far we have seen how to Import REST API data into Power BI but what if you have too much data and you dont want to import but link it. Power BI Offers very useful feature for this scenario. Its called DirectQuery Option. In this section we will explore how to use DirectQuery along with ZappySys Drivers. Out of the box ZappySys Drivers wont work in ODBC Connection Mode so you have to use SQL Server Connection rather than ODBC if you wish to use Live data using DirectQuery option. See below step by step instructions to enable DirectQuery mode in Power BI for REST API data. Basically we will use ZappySys Data Gateway its part of ODBC PowerPack. We will then use Linked Server in SQL Server to Link API Service and then we will issue OPENROWSET queries from Power BI to SQL Server and it will then call REST API via ZappySys Data Gateway.

Step-By-Step - How to query Shopify API in SQL Server

  1. First read this article carefully, How to query Shopify API in SQL Server.
  2. Once linked server is configured we are ready to issue API query in Power BI.
  3. Click Get Data in Power BI, select SQL Server Database
  4. Enter your server name and any database name
  5. Select Mode as DirectQuery
  6. Click on Advanced and enter query like below (we are assuming you have created JSON Data Source in Data Gateway and defined linked server (Change name below).
    Select * from OPENQUERY(SHOPIFY_LINKED_SERVER,'SELECT * FROM Customers')
    Select * from OPENQUERY(
    SHOPIFY_LINKED_SERVER,
    'SELECT * FROM Customers'
    )
    DirectQuery option for Power BI (Read REST API Data Example using SQL Server Linked Server and ZappySys Data Gateway)


    DirectQuery option for Power BI (Read REST API Data Example using SQL Server Linked Server and ZappySys Data Gateway)

  7. Click OK and Load data ... That's it. Now your Shopify API data is linked rather than imported.

Working with Gateways in Power BI (Schedule Import)

If the data needs to be updated, it is necessary to create a gateway on-premises. In this new section, we will install a Power BI Gateway and in the next section schedule it to update the REST API information.
  1. In the last section, we Published the report. Power BI may ask you to SIGN IN.
    Sign in Power BI

    Sign in Power BI

  2. Select the Workspace and select Datasets
    Go do workspace and select dataset

    Go to workspace and dataset

  3. Right-click the report and select Settings.
    Define settings for Power BI report

    Specify settings for the report

  4. The system will ask for a Gateway. Stay here.
    add power bi gateway

    Add Power BI Gateway

  5. Use the following link to install a Data Gateway:
    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/service-gateway-onprem
  6. Run the installer and press Next
    Initial gateway window for installation

    Gateway installer

  7. Select the option On-premises data gateway (recommended). This option allows access to multiple users and can be used by more applications than Power BI.
    Choose Power BI gateway

    Choose Power BI option

  8. The installer will show a warning message.
    Warning message gateway installation

    Warning message during installation

  9. Select the path to install and check the I accept the terms.
    accept terms

    Accept terms

  10. Specify the email address to use the gateway.
    Register email in gateway installation

    Register email address

  11. After entering the email, write the gateway name and a recovery key. Make sure to confirm the recovery key.
    Specify name and recovery key

    Enter recovery key

Manage gateways and configure the schedule

Once that the gateway is installed we will configure it and add the connection strings.
  1. The next step is to go to manage gateway
    Power BI - Manage Gateway Setting

    Power BI - Manage Gateway Setting

  2. In order to get the connection string, we will need the connection string of the ZappySys JSON Driver. In the first section of this post, we explained how to configure it. Press Copy Connection String
    ZappySys connection properties

    Connection properties

  3. Once that the data is copied, add a New data Source. In Data Source Name, enter the Data Source Name of the ZappySys JSON driver in step 13 and in Data Source Type, select ODBC. In connection string copy and paste from the clipboard of the step 13 and press Add.
    Zappy connection properties

    ZappySys connection properties in Power BI

  4. Once added the gateway. You can see the schedule refresh to On and Add another time to add the time where you want to refresh the data.
    Schedule gateway

    Schedule gateway

Create Custom Store Procedure in ZappySys Driver

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Store Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

  1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Store Procedure

  2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Store Procedure Name

  3. Select the created Store Procedure and write the your desired store procedure and Save it and it will create the custom store procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
    Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

    CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
        @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
     AS
        SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
    

    ZappySys Driver - Create Custom Store Procedure

  4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Store Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:

    Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

    ZappySys Driver - Execute Custom Store Procedure

  5. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using store procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
    As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.

    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

  6. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using store procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

  1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Table

  2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
    ZappySys Driver - Add Table Name

  3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

  4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
    Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here

    SELECT
      "ShipCountry",
      "OrderID",
      "CustomerID",
      "EmployeeID",
      "OrderDate",
      "RequiredDate",
      "ShippedDate",
      "ShipVia",
      "Freight",
      "ShipName",
      "ShipAddress",
      "ShipCity",
      "ShipRegion",
      "ShipPostalCode"
    FROM "Orders"
    Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

    ZappySys Driver - Create Custom Table

  5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:

    SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

    ZappySys Driver - Execute Custom Virtual Table Query

  6. Let's generate the SQL Server Query Code to make the API call using store procedure. Go to Code Generator Tab, select language as SQL Server and click on Generate button the generate the code.
    As we already created the linked server for this Data Source, in that you just need to copy the Select Query and need to use the linked server name which we have apply on the place of [MY_API_SERVICE] placeholder.

    SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([MY_API_SERVICE], 'EXEC [usp_get_orders] ''1996-01-01''')

    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

  7. Now go to SQL served and execute that query and it will make the API call using store procedure and provide you the response.
    ZappySys Driver - Generate SQL Server Query

Conclusion

In this article we discussed how to connect to Shopify in Power BI and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Shopify Connector for Power BI and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).

Download Shopify Connector for Power BI Documentation 

Actions supported by Shopify Connector

Shopify Connector support following actions for REST API integration. If some actions are not listed below then you can easily edit Connector file and enhance out of the box functionality.
 Get Customers
Gets a list of customers.
Parameter Description
Customer Id(s) - Comma separated Restrict results to records specified by a comma-separated list of IDs.
 Get Customer
Gets a specific customer.
 Create a Customer
Creates a new customer.
 Update a Customer
Updates an existing customer.
 Delete a Customer
Deletes a specific customer.
 Get Orders
Gets a list of orders.
Parameter Description
Order Id(s) - Comma separated Restrict results to records specified by a comma-separated list of IDs.
 Get Order
Gets a specific order.
 Create an Order
Creates a new order.
 Update an Order
Updates an existing order.
 Delete an Order
Deletes a specific order.
 Get Order Items
Gets a list of line items for all orders or the specified order(s).
Parameter Description
Order Id(s) - Comma separated Restrict results to records specified by a comma-separated list of IDs.
 Get Products
Gets a list of products.
Parameter Description
Product Id(s) - Comma separated Restrict results to records specified by a comma-separated list of IDs.
 Get Product
Gets a specific product.
 Get Product Variants
Gets a list of products with their variants.
Parameter Description
Product Id(s) - Comma separated Restrict results to records specified by a comma-separated list of IDs.
Since Product Id Restrict results created after the specified product ID.
Only Fields to Show Limit data retrieval to only the selected product-related fields.
Option Value
id id
title title
body_html body_html
vendor vendor
product_type product_type
created_at created_at
handle handle
updated_at updated_at
published_at published_at
template_suffix template_suffix
status status
published_scope published_scope
tags tags
admin_graphql_api_id admin_graphql_api_id
variants variants
options options
images images
image image
Created Before Restrict results to products created before a specified date. (format: 2014-04-25T16:15:47-04:00)
Created After Restrict results to products created after a specified date. (format: 2014-04-25T16:15:47-04:00)
Updated Before Restrict results to products last updated before a specified date. (format: 2014-04-25T16:15:47-04:00)
Updated After Restrict results to products last updated after a specified date. (format: 2014-04-25T16:15:47-04:00)
 Generic Request
This is generic endpoint. Use this endpoint when some actions are not implemented by connector. Just enter partial URL (Required), Body, Method, Header etc. Most parameters are optional except URL.
Parameter Description
Url API URL goes here. You can enter full URL or Partial URL relative to Base URL. If it is full URL then domain name must be part of ServiceURL or part of TrustedDomains
Body Request Body content goes here
IsMultiPart Check this option if you want to upload file(s) (i.e. POST RAW file data) or send data using Multi-Part encoding method (i.e. Content-Type: multipart/form-data). Multi-Part request allows you to mix key/value and upload files in same request. On the other hand raw upload allows only single file upload (without any key/value) ==== Raw Upload (Content-Type: application/octet-stream) ===== To upload single file in raw mode check this option and specify full file path starting with @ sign in the Body (e.g. @c:\data\myfile.zip ) ==== Form-Data / Multipart Upload (Content-Type: multipart/form-data) ===== To treat your Request data as multi part fields you must specify key/value pairs separated by new lines into RequestData field (i.e. Body). Each key value pair is entered on new-line and key/value are separated using equal sign (=). Preceding and trailing spaces are ignored also blank lines are ignored. If field value has some any special character(s) then use escape sequence (e.g. For NewLine: \r\n, For Tab: \t, For at (@): \@). When value of any field starts with at sign (@) its automatically treated as File you want to upload. By default file content type is determined based on extension however you can supply content type manually for any field using this way [ YourFileFieldName.Content-Type=some-content-type ]. By default File Upload Field always includes Content-Type in the request (non file fields do not have content-type by default unless you supply manually). For some reason if you dont want to use Content-Type header in your request then supply blank Content-Type to exclude this header altogather [e.g. SomeFieldName.Content-Type= ]. In below example we have supplied Content-Type for file2 and SomeField1, all other fields are using default content-type. See below Example of uploading multiple files along with additional fields. If some API requires you to pass Content-Type: multipart/form-data rather than multipart/form-data then manually set Request Header =&gt; Content-Type: multipart/mixed (it must starts with multipart/ else will be ignored). file1=@c:\data\Myfile1.txt file2=@c:\data\Myfile2.json file2.Content-Type=application/json SomeField1=aaaaaaa SomeField1.Content-Type=text/plain SomeField2=12345 SomeFieldWithNewLineAndTab=This is line1\r\nThis is line2\r\nThis is \ttab \ttab \ttab SomeFieldStartingWithAtSign=\@MyTwitterHandle
Filter Enter filter to extract array from response. Example: $.rows[*] --OR-- $.customers[*].orders[*]. Check your response document and find out hierarchy you like to extract
Headers Headers for Request. To enter multiple headers use double pipe or new line after each {header-name}:{value} pair

Other App Integration scenarios for Shopify

Other Connectors for Power BI


Download Shopify Connector for Power BI Documentation 

  • How to connect Shopify in Power BI?

  • How to get Shopify data in Power BI?

  • How to read Shopify data in Power BI?

  • How to load Shopify data in Power BI?

  • How to import Shopify data in Power BI?

  • How to pull Shopify data in Power BI?

  • How to push data to Shopify in Power BI?

  • How to write data to Shopify in Power BI?

  • How to POST data to Shopify in Power BI?

  • Call Shopify API in Power BI

  • Consume Shopify API in Power BI

  • Shopify Power BI Automate

  • Shopify Power BI Integration

  • Integration Shopify in Power BI

  • Consume real-time Shopify data in Power BI

  • Consume realtime Shopify API data in Power BI

  • Shopify ODBC Driver | ODBC Driver for Shopify | ODBC Shopify Driver | SSIS Shopify Source | SSIS Shopify Destination

  • Connect Shopify in Power BI

  • Load Shopify in Power BI

  • Load Shopify data in Power BI

  • Read Shopify data in Power BI

  • Shopify API Call in Power BI