Pinterest Ads for Shopify: Connect, Sync, Read Results

Pinterest ads for a Shopify store start with the free Pinterest app from the Shopify App Store, made by Pinterest. It uploads your catalog and keeps it updated (the listing says near real time in one place and every day in another), so your products can run as shopping ads, and it installs the Pinterest Tag to track visits, add-to-carts and checkouts. Expect Pinterest’s reported sales to be higher than Shopify’s: Pinterest’s Conversion insights, unless you choose another window, count a purchase up to 30 days after a click and 1 day after someone only saw the ad, while Shopify credits clicks only.

Connect Pinterest to Shopify

1. Install the Pinterest app from the Shopify App Store. It is free to install; Pinterest charges only when you buy ads, billed in USD. The listing showed a 4.1 rating from 1,713 reviews on October 23, 2026, and Pinterest notes the app isn’t available in every country yet.
2. Connect a Pinterest business account, or create one during setup. The listing mentions ad credits when you connect your account and launch your first campaign.
3. Let the app sync your catalog. It uploads your products, keeps them updated, and surfaces your catalog to Pinners organically as product Pins.
4. Check the Pinterest Tag. The listing names the Pinterest Tag for tracking and also mentions the API for Conversions. If a Pinterest Tag was pasted into your theme earlier, remove it to avoid double counting.

The catalog comes from Shopify, so fix titles, prices and images in Shopify rather than in Pinterest.

Ad formats for a store

Pinterest lists these formats among others:

Shopping and collections ads use the synced catalog, which makes them the natural first campaign for a Shopify store. For image ads, Pinterest recommends a 2:3 portrait image, so plan vertical photos rather than reusing square product shots.

If creators post about your products with Pinterest’s paid partnership label, you can also promote their Pins as idea ads; see our guide to Pinterest influencer marketing.

Why Pinterest and Shopify numbers differ

The two sets of numbers differ for three reasons.

Attribution windows. Pinterest counts a conversion within a lookback window after someone engaged with your ad. In Conversion insights, if you have not chosen a window, Pinterest shows 1-day view and 30-day click: a purchase within one day of seeing the ad, or within 30 days of clicking it.

View conversions. Pinterest’s own page on Shopify reporting says the Shopify app reports only last-click conversions, and that Shopify does not capture view-attributed conversions reported by Pinterest. A person who saw your Pin, did not click, and bought two hours later from a Google search counts as a Pinterest conversion in Pinterest and as a Google order in Shopify.

Attribution models in Shopify. Shopify’s marketing reports credit orders by clicks and visits, with a choice of last non-direct click (the default in the channel reports), last click, first click, any click or linear. None of them counts ad views.

What matches and what doesn’t, according to Pinterest’s Shopify reporting page:

• Impressions and spend should match Pinterest Ads Manager, though the last 24 hours may lag.
• Clicks and sessions won’t exactly match, since a click and a session are counted differently.
• Sessions have no one-to-one equivalent in Pinterest’s conversion reporting.

Pinterest’s help page still sends you to Marketing in the Shopify admin to see campaign stats; since June 2026 that section is called Growth. To compare Pinterest with your other channels on the same rules, use the Channel performance report there, and switch it to first click to see how often Pinterest starts a purchase that another channel finishes. Our guide to Shopify marketing reports explains the models.

A first campaign

1. Pick a collection that already sells and has good vertical photos.
2. Run a shopping or collections campaign from the synced catalog, with a daily budget you can leave alone for three to four weeks, since people can save a Pin and buy later.
3. Add UTM parameters to non-catalog ads (utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=2026-11-kitchen) so they show by name in Shopify.
4. Judge on two numbers: Pinterest’s 30-day click conversions for the ad’s own result, and Shopify’s first-click orders for its effect on your store.

For how Pinterest compares with Meta, TikTok, Reddit and YouTube, see our guide to social media advertising for Shopify, and more guides in the marketing and SEO hub.

Frequently asked questions

How do I connect Pinterest to Shopify? Install the free Pinterest app from the Shopify App Store, connect or create a Pinterest business account, and let the app sync your catalog and set up the Pinterest Tag.

Is the Pinterest app for Shopify free? It is free to install. Pinterest charges only for ads you buy, billed in USD.

Why does Pinterest report more sales than Shopify? Pinterest counts purchases within its attribution windows, including people who only viewed an ad, by default 1 day after a view and 30 days after a click. Shopify credits orders by clicks and visits only.

Which Pinterest ad format should a Shopify store start with? Shopping or collections ads from the synced catalog, because they use your product data and photos directly. Add video or idea ads once you have content that shows the product in use.

Facts come from the Pinterest app listing and Pinterest’s help pages on Shopify app reporting, ad formats and conversion insights, read on October 23, 2026, and from the Shopify Help Center page on marketing reports.