Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys are one of the simplest ways to understand how happy customers are with their recent shopping experience. If you are running a Shopify store and want to measure satisfaction, you might be asking: “Do I need an app to create a CSAT survey on my Shopify store?”
The short answer is yes. Shopify does not include a built-in CSAT survey tool or a way to add interactive satisfaction questions to the post-purchase page without an app. To run CSAT surveys properly, especially directly after checkout, you need a survey app that integrates with Shopify, such as Grapevine Surveys.
What Is a CSAT Survey and Why Use It on Shopify?
A CSAT survey usually asks a question like:
“How satisfied are you with your experience today?”
Customers respond using a simple scale, for example:
- Very satisfied
- Satisfied
- Neutral
- Dissatisfied
- Very dissatisfied
For Shopify stores, CSAT surveys help you understand how customers feel about:
- The checkout experience
- Product selection and pricing
- Shipping and delivery expectations
- Overall experience with your brand
When CSAT is collected at the right moment and linked to orders, it becomes an important signal for improving your store and retaining customers.
Why Shopify Cannot Run CSAT Surveys by Default
Shopify is built to handle ecommerce tasks like products, payments and orders. It is not designed to manage structured survey logic by itself. This means there are some important limitations.
1. No Native CSAT Question Types
Shopify does not provide ready-made CSAT components such as:
- Star rating widgets
- Emoji style satisfaction scales
- Single click satisfaction buttons
- Survey builders for the thank-you page
2. You Cannot Add Survey Questions to the Post-purchase Page
The order status page is intentionally locked down to keep the checkout experience secure and reliable. Without using an app, you cannot add interactive CSAT questions directly to this page.
3. Shopify Does Not Store CSAT Scores
Even if you send customers to an external CSAT form, Shopify will not:
- Attach the satisfaction score to the order
- Associate CSAT results with specific customers
- Help you track satisfaction trends over time
To solve these gaps, you need a dedicated survey app that is built for Shopify and the post-purchase journey.
If you want a more general overview of surveys on Shopify, you can also read:
Why CSAT Works Best on the Post-purchase Page
You can ask CSAT questions in email or on other parts of your site, but the Shopify post-purchase page is often the most effective place to do it.
Higher Engagement Right After Purchase
After checkout, customers are still focused on your store and expecting confirmation or next steps. A simple CSAT question on the thank-you page feels natural and quick to answer, which leads to higher completion rates than email surveys.
More Accurate Satisfaction Scores
CSAT performs best when measured while the experience is fresh. Post-purchase surveys capture how customers feel about the buying process in the moment, rather than days later when other factors may influence their opinion.
Order Level Insight
When you run CSAT as a post-purchase survey through an app, each score can be connected to:
- The order value
- Products and categories purchased
- Shipping options selected
- Discounts or promotions applied
- Acquisition channels reported through attribution surveys
This turns CSAT into a practical decision making tool, not just a one off metric.
Many merchants combine CSAT with other post-purchase questions, such as:
What a CSAT Survey App Lets You Do That Shopify Cannot
A CSAT focused survey app like Grapevine Surveys unlocks features that are not available in Shopify by default.
1. Show CSAT Directly After Checkout
A CSAT question can appear on the order status page as soon as the customer completes checkout. They can answer with a single click, without leaving your store.
2. Capture Structured Satisfaction Scores
The app collects responses using standardised rating scales, which makes the data easy to interpret and compare over time. You do not have to build your own survey logic.
3. Link CSAT Results to Orders and Customers
Because the survey is connected to the post-purchase flow, each CSAT score can be linked to:
- A specific order
- The customer who placed it
- Relevant order attributes such as value or products
This context helps you see which parts of your business are driving satisfaction or leading to poor experiences.
4. Segment New and Returning Customers
New customers and long term customers may feel differently about your store. A CSAT app can detect whether a customer is new or returning and use that to tailor questions or follow ups.
If you are thinking about segmentation, you may also want to read:
- The benefits of using a post-purchase survey for new customers
- Question ideas for returning customers
5. Combine CSAT With Other Survey Types
Many Shopify merchants use CSAT as part of a wider feedback system. With Grapevine Surveys you can combine:
- CSAT questions for immediate satisfaction
- NPS questions for long term loyalty
- Attribution questions for marketing insight
This gives you a full picture of how customers find you, how they feel about buying from you and whether they are likely to come back.
Why Grapevine Surveys Is a Strong Choice for CSAT on Shopify
Grapevine Surveys is built specifically for Shopify merchants who want clear, actionable feedback from their customers. It focuses on post-purchase surveys that are easy to set up and deliver high completion rates.
With Grapevine Surveys, you can:
- Show CSAT surveys on the Shopify post-purchase page
- Collect structured satisfaction scores as first-party data
- Link CSAT responses to orders and customers
- Combine CSAT with NPS and attribution in a single flow
- Install and configure everything without custom code
You can learn more about CSAT surveys in Grapevine here:
For a real brand example, see:
Rothy’s CSAT spotlight
For more guides and examples across all survey types, explore:
Grapevine Surveys resources and guides
Can You Run CSAT Without an App?
It is possible to collect some CSAT style feedback without a dedicated app. For example, you could:
- Send a satisfaction survey by email using your email service provider
- Link to a CSAT form on Google Forms or Typeform
- Embed a satisfaction survey on a separate page of your site
These approaches can work for small, manual feedback projects, but they usually lead to:
- Lower response rates than post-purchase surveys
- Results that are not tied to orders or products
- Extra manual work to consolidate and analyse the data
If you want a consistent, scalable way to measure customer satisfaction in your Shopify store, a dedicated post-purchase survey app like Grapevine Surveys is a stronger long term solution.
Conclusion: Yes, You Need an App to Create a CSAT Survey on Shopify
Shopify does not include native CSAT survey tools or the ability to add interactive satisfaction questions to the post-purchase page. If you want to:
- Ask CSAT questions immediately after checkout
- Capture structured satisfaction scores at scale
- Connect CSAT results to orders and customers
- Segment satisfaction by new vs returning customers
- Combine CSAT with NPS and attribution surveys
then you do need an app to create and run CSAT surveys on your Shopify store.
Grapevine Surveys is designed for exactly this. It helps Shopify merchants collect CSAT, NPS and attribution data on the post-purchase page and turn that feedback into practical improvements for marketing, merchandising and customer experience.
