Woopify

How to find Shopify stores in any niche (free methods)

By the Woopify team6 min read

Short answer

The fastest free way to find Shopify stores is a Google search such as site:myshopify.com "organic coffee", combined with footprints that every Shopify store shares, such as "cdn.shopify.com" + niche. Browse the Shop app for curated brands in a category. To confirm that a site runs on Shopify and see its theme and apps, paste it into the free Shopify theme detector.

Key takeaways

  • Google operators surface stores still on their myshopify.com domain or with Shopify footprints.
  • The Shop app lists Shopify brands by category, with no tools needed.
  • Verify a store in seconds: Shopify stores load assets from cdn.shopify.com.

1. Google search operators

Every Shopify store has a *.myshopify.com address, and many smaller or newer stores are still indexed on it. Combine it with a niche keyword:

site:myshopify.com "yoga mats"
site:myshopify.com intitle:"candles"
"powered by shopify" "handmade jewelry"

Results are partial, because established stores use their own domain, but this is a good way to find newer and smaller competitors.

2. The Shop app

Shopify's Shop app (iOS, Android and shop.app) groups Shopify merchants by category. Searching a product type there returns only Shopify stores, by definition. It's the most reliable free directory, though it favours brands that opted in.

3. Competitor and supplier lists

Check the “stockists” or “where to buy” pages of brands in your niche, the exhibitor lists of trade fairs, and the partner directories of Shopify apps, which often showcase customer stores. Then verify each domain (method 5).

4. Paid store databases

If you need thousands of stores filtered by country, revenue or installed apps, paid technology-lookup databases index millions of sites. They're worth it for lead generation at scale, and overkill for researching a few dozen competitors.

5. Verify that a store runs on Shopify

  • Free tool: paste the URL into the Shopify theme detector. It confirms Shopify and shows the theme, its version, and the store's myshopify.com address.
  • By hand: view the page source (Ctrl+U or Cmd+Option+U) and search for cdn.shopify.com or Shopify.theme.
  • JSON check: open https://store.com/products.json. A Shopify store answers with a product list.

To see which marketing, reviews or upsell apps a store uses, run the Shopify app detector.

From a list of stores to usable data

Once you have a shortlist, you may need the products themselves: for price benchmarking, assortment analysis, or importing a supplier catalog you're authorized to resell. The Shopify scraper exports any public catalog to a native CSV with prices, variants and images. Start with a free 25-product preview.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a search engine for Shopify stores?

Not an official one for all stores. The Shop app lists participating Shopify brands, and Google operators such as site:myshopify.com find many others.

How can I tell if a website is a Shopify store?

Look for cdn.shopify.com in the page source, open /products.json, or paste the URL into a free Shopify theme detector.

How do I find the best-selling products of a Shopify store?

Most stores have a /collections/all page sorted by best selling (?sort_by=best-selling). This reflects the store's own ranking, not exact sales figures.

Export any Shopify or WooCommerce catalog to CSV

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