The profile data you collect through Okendo Reviews, Surveys, Quizzes, Referrals, and Loyalty gives you a detailed picture of your customers. Syncing that data to Shopify customer metafields puts it to work across your entire Shopify stack: build richer segments, trigger more targeted automations, and pass customer insights to connected platforms like Klaviyo, all without leaving Shopify.
💡 This feature is available on all products on Growth and above.
In this article, you will learn about;
How the sync works
When you enable a property sync, Okendo creates a metafield definition in Shopify that tells Shopify what the property is called and what data type it contains. Okendo then runs a backfill across all of your existing customers: any customer who already has a value for that property gets a metafield written to their Shopify profile.
After the initial backfill, values sync in near real-time. When a customer submits a response or updates their profile through any Okendo product, their Shopify metafield is updated within minutes.
💡 Backfill time varies by store size. Most merchants see it complete within minutes; large stores may take longer. Once done, all subsequent updates are near-instant.
What data can be synced
You can sync any profile property captured through Okendo Reviews, Surveys, Quizzes, Referrals, or Loyalty, provided:
Data has been collected against it. A property only appears as available to sync if at least one customer has a recorded value. Properties with no data are not shown in the sync configuration.
The property originates from Okendo. Properties derived from Shopify data, such as Average Order Value, cannot be synced back to Shopify. Only data captured through Okendo interactions (survey responses, quiz answers, loyalty profile questions) is eligible.
It is mapped to a profile question. One-off survey responses that are not tied to a profile question cannot be synced.
💡 Common examples of syncable properties include birthday, skin type, fitness goals, preferred product category, and any custom profile question you have configured.
Enable a property sync
Go to Profiles > Settings > Metafield Sync.
If you see an Additional Permission Required banner, click Add Permission an follow the Shopify prompt to grant the 'write customers' permission. This required before any sync can run.
Select the profile properties you want to sync from the Sync Fields dropdown.
Click Save.
Okendo will immediately create the metafield definition in Shopify and begin the customer backfill. You do not need to take any action in Shopify for this step.
💡 If you use Okendo Quizzes or Loyalty, you may have already approved the 'write customers' permission through one of those products. If so, you can skip step 2.
⚠️ Only enable syncs for properties where you have confirmed data is being collected. Properties with no data will not appear in this list.
View synced properties in Shopify
Once a sync is enabled, you can verify it is working from within your Shopify admin.
In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Metafields & metaobjects > Customers.
Open the More actions dropdown.
Select View read-only definitions.
Your Okendo-synced properties will appear in the definitions list. From here, you can use these properties in Shopify segments, Flow automations, and reporting.
⚠️ Definitions created by Okendo are read-only in Shopify. They can only be managed from within Okendo.
Remove a property sync
If you no longer want a property synced to Shopify, you can remove it from the same settings screen where you enabled it.
Go to Profiles > Settings > Metafield Sync.
Locate the property and click the x to remove the item from the sync.
Okendo will delete the metafield definition in Shopify. Shopify will then remove the associated data from every customer profile. The cleanup is handled automatically: no action is required in Shopify.
❗️ Removing a sync permanently deletes all associated metafield data from Shopify customer profiles. This action cannot be undone.
FAQs
Q. Can I use synced properties in Shopify Flow automations?
A. Yes. Once a property is synced, you can create Shopify segments based on that metafield and use segment entry as a trigger in Shopify Flow. This lets you pass data to connected platforms like Klaviyo, eMarsys, or any tool with a native Shopify Flow action, from within Shopify.
⚠️ Note that Shopify Flow does not have a native customer-updated trigger, so segment entry is the recommended approach.
Q. Do I need to approve any additional permissions before I can start syncing?
A. Yes. Syncing customer metafields requires the 'write customers' Shopify permission. If you haven't already approved it, you'll see an Additional Permission Required banner on the Metafield Sync page; click Add Permission to grant it. If you use Okendo Quizzes or Loyalty and have already approved this permission through one of those products, no further action is needed.
Q. What happens to the data in Shopify if a customer updates their profile in Okendo?
A. The updated value syncs to their Shopify metafield within minutes. You do not need to re-run the sync manually.
Q. Why can't I see a property I have set up in Okendo?
A. A property only appears as available to sync once at least one customer has data recorded against it. If a property is not showing, check that responses have been collected for it in Okendo.
Q. Does this work for all my customers, or only new ones?
A. The initial backfill applies retroactively to all existing customers who have data for the synced property. All new and updated values continue to sync in real time after that.
Q. What if a customer doesn't have a Shopify account?
A. Syncing requires a linked Shopify customer record. Guest profiles or Okendo customers who are not matched to a Shopify customer will not have metafields written to Shopify.