Do I Need an App to Run a Survey on Shopify?

Why This Question Matters for Shopify Merchants

As your store grows, you eventually reach the point where analytics alone are not enough. You want to know:

• Where did this customer really come from?
• How did they find us?
• How happy are they with their experience?
• Would they recommend us to a friend?

That is when most merchants start thinking about surveys and ask a natural question: “Do I actually need an app to run a survey on Shopify?”

In practical terms, the answer is yes. To collect reliable attribution, NPS, CSAT, or general post-purchase feedback on Shopify, you need a survey app that is built for the platform. Grapevine Surveys is one of those apps.

What Shopify Can and Cannot Do on Its Own

Shopify is excellent for managing products, orders, and payments. However, it does not include native tools for structured customer surveys. Out of the box, Shopify does not provide:

• A built-in survey builder for the thank-you page or order status page
• Standardised survey types such as attribution, NPS, or CSAT
• Automatic storage of survey responses against orders or customers
• Segmented surveys for new vs returning customers

You could, in theory, add a link to an external form somewhere on your site. But that approach usually leads to:

• Low response rates, because the survey is not shown directly after purchase
• Data that is not connected to orders or customers
• No simple way to separate first-time customers from returning customers
• Extra manual work to move results into spreadsheets or analytics tools

This is why most Shopify merchants who are serious about customer insight use a dedicated survey app such as Grapevine Surveys.

What a Shopify Survey App Lets You Do

A purpose-built survey app goes far beyond a simple form. Here is what a tool like Grapevine Surveys enables on your Shopify store.

1. Show Surveys at the Right Moment (Post-Purchase)

The most valuable moment to ask questions is immediately after a customer places an order. A survey app allows you to display questions directly on the post-purchase or order status page, without any extra work.

You can see how real merchants use post-purchase surveys in this spotlight case study:
Post-purchase attribution survey with Precision Hydration.

2. Collect First-Party Attribution Data

Privacy changes and tracking limitations mean ad platforms and analytics are often incomplete. Asking customers directly, for example: “How did you first hear about us?” gives you clean, first-party attribution data that is not dependent on cookies.

Grapevine Surveys focuses heavily on this type of data:
Attribution surveys on Shopify with Grapevine Surveys.

3. Run NPS Surveys on Shopify

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple and widely used way to measure customer loyalty. A survey app can show a one-question NPS survey to the right customers after they buy:

“On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to a friend?”

With an app like Grapevine Surveys, you can run NPS surveys directly inside your Shopify post-purchase flow and connect the score back to each order.

Learn more about this survey type here:
NPS surveys for Shopify stores.

You can also see a real-world example:
NPS spotlight with ALT. Fragrances.

4. Run CSAT Surveys on Shopify

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys let you measure how happy customers are with their recent purchase or shopping experience. For example:

“How satisfied are you with your experience today?”

CSAT questions are short and easy to answer, which makes them ideal for a post-purchase survey. Grapevine Surveys supports CSAT questions directly on your Shopify thank-you page.

You can read more about CSAT surveys here:
CSAT surveys for Shopify.

And see how brands use CSAT in practice:
CSAT spotlight with Rothy’s.

5. Target New vs Returning Customers

New customers and returning customers often need different questions. For example:

• New customers: “What convinced you to place your first order today?”
• Returning customers: “What made you come back to us?”

A survey app lets you change the question depending on whether the customer is new or returning, so your data becomes more meaningful.

If you want to explore this further:
Why you should run surveys to new customers
Question ideas for returning customers

Can I Run a Survey on Shopify Without an App?

Technically, there are a few ways to collect feedback without installing an app, but each has trade-offs.

Embedded External Forms

You could link to a Google Form, Typeform, or similar tool from a navigation menu, email, or blog post. This might be enough for very simple, occasional feedback.

However, you will usually find that:

• Response rates are much lower compared to a post-purchase survey
• Data is not tied to orders or customers in Shopify
• You cannot easily see how different channels or products perform

Custom Development

If you have access to developers and, in some cases, Shopify Plus features, you could custom-build survey functionality into the checkout or thank-you page. This approach can work, but it often means:

• Higher upfront cost and ongoing maintenance
• Manual data handling or custom integrations
• Time spent on building a feature that a specialist app already solves

For most stores, using a dedicated survey app such as Grapevine Surveys is faster, cheaper over time, and easier to maintain.

Why Grapevine Surveys Is a Strong Choice for Shopify Stores

Grapevine Surveys is built specifically for Shopify merchants who want clear, actionable insight from post-purchase surveys. It focuses on the survey types that matter most for e-commerce:

• Attribution surveys to understand how customers first heard about you
• NPS surveys to measure loyalty and word-of-mouth potential
• CSAT surveys to measure satisfaction with the buying experience

It is designed to be simple to install and use. Surveys appear after purchase on your Shopify store, and responses are linked to orders so you can see context behind every answer.

You can find more guides, question ideas, and case studies in the resources section:
Grapevine Surveys resources and guides.

Conclusion: Yes, You Need an App to Run Surveys Properly on Shopify

If you are serious about understanding your customers, measuring satisfaction, and filling the gaps that analytics cannot cover, you should use a survey app on your Shopify store.

Shopify on its own does not provide the tools needed for structured attribution, NPS, CSAT, or targeted post-purchase surveys. A dedicated survey app gives you:

• High response rates from post-purchase placement
• First-party data on where customers heard about you
• Standardised NPS and CSAT metrics
• Different questions for new and returning customers
• Survey responses connected directly to orders

Grapevine Surveys is built for exactly this. It helps Shopify merchants run effective post-purchase surveys and turn customer feedback into insight they can act on.