How to Handle Shopify’s API Rate Limits with Your ERP System

Shopify has a cheekily-named “leaky-bucket” rate limit algorithm. It’s a brilliant way to ensure the platform’s stability. However, this rate-limit can prove to be an obstacle in the road to Shopify-ERP integration. Just a handful of badly timed bulk updates can result in data transfer freeze, unresponsive automation rules and missing information updates. And you can surely feel the side effect of this rate-limit in the form of stock-outs, angry customers, and CFO headaches. The cure, however, isn’t to slow your processes down. Rather, you have to find ways to use smarter call patterns, cache wisely and let an iPaaS platform like APPSeCONNECT do the heavy lifting of walking on eggshells.If you’re one of those Shopify sellers who haven’t yet figured out how to handle shopify API rate limits, this article is for you. 

Why Shopify Rate Limits Are a Problem For ERP Integration 

Shopify’s rate-limits are there for a good reason – to keep the platform usable for all users In other words, to prevent the servers getting overwhelmed and unresponsive. Shopify data says that global ecommerce sales are going to hit $8.09 by 2028. This increasingly high volume of traffic puts enormous pressure on the ecom platforms like Shopify.  

However, these essential limits become roadblocks when your business needs to sync large volumes of data between Shopify and your ERP system. This strict rate-limit problem becomes acutely explicit during:  

• Rapid growth periods 
• Seasonal spikes 
• Catalog expansion 
• Presence of multiple sales channel 

Start your free trial and experience seamless, automated Shopify-ERP integration without hitting rate limits.

Problems Caused By Shopify Rate Limits 

Shopify API rate limits cause:  

• Data sync goes for a toss. Businesses cease to get real-time order updates 
• 429 – Too many requests – error code will frustrate you 
• Serviced degradation due to retries 
• Backlogs of unprocessed API requests  

Here’s How Shopify Rate-Limits Looks Like:  

These numbers look quite lenient. But that’s on paper. However there can be a number of scenarios where the ERP is configured in a way that it breaches the limit offered by the higher tier Shopify Plus package. 

A Scenario Where Graph Admin API Traffic Exceeds 1000 Points In a Second 

Imagine an apparel reseller preparing for a flash sale through its Shopify ecommerce platform. This means that they need to update the pricing of their products eligible for the flash sale. To handle this centrally and in an automated way, they plan to update the product info and price in their ERP system and push the new data to Shopify using the GraphQL Admin API. 

Their catalog includes: 

• 250 products
• Each product has an average of 12 variants (sizes/colors) 
• Each product includes 5–7 metafields for additional product attributes 
• Each product is assigned to multiple collections and tags 

The Breaking Point: 

The retailer initiates multiple simultaneous individual GraphQL queries (not using Bulk API) to: 

• Fetch complete product details 
• Retrieve all variant information (including inventory levels across multiple locations) 
• Collect all metafields 
• Fetch collection memberships 
• Fetch media attachments 
• Pull SEO metadata 

So, for a single product query, total points used: 

So, a single product query requires around ~100 to 115 points 

Now, forget 250 products. If the ERP system queries just 10 or 15 products simultaneously, the consumed points would reach and cross the limit of 1000 points triggering throttling.  

And this is just the querying part. What if the ERP tries to update the Shopify listings right after querying? The throttling will be prolonged. 

From a developer’s perspective, requesting data for 10–12 products may seem reasonable. However, the cumulative query complexity dramatically impacts the API point budget, making it easy to trigger shopify API rate limits for inventory updates, product info mutations etc. 

Frustrated by constant API throttling and data sync delays? Schedule your personalized demo.

What Happens When Your ERP Hits Shopify’s API Throttle Threshold 

When your ERP sends more requests than allowed, Shopify returns a 429 – too many requests error. When you see this error, you can be sure that the Shopify API will now throttle incoming requests. What happens then? 

• Goodbye To Real Time Data Flow: Thanks to throttling, requests start piling up. New requests won’t be acknowledged for a long time. As a result, requests for the latest data will reach the API after a certain time. 
• Backlog: Unprocessed requests keep piling up 
• Retry Storm and Further Degradation: When requests fail, the system retries again creating a large number of retries which further degrade the quality of service. 
• Business impact: Orders process incorrectly, inventory shows wrong counts, customer data gets fragmented 

This cascading failure can be equated with the Thanos snap! Half of the operational data and efficiency seemingly disappear in an instant.

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5 Integration Practices That Trigger Shopify Rate Limit Issues 

Here are 5 usual suspects when it comes to hitting Shopify rate-limits: 

• Inefficient Polling & Full Catalog Pulls 

Many basic integrations check for new data using frequent polling – repeatedly asking “Any updates?” This approach is like Sheldon Cooper knocking on a door: “Shopify? knock knock knock, Shopify? knock knock knock, Shopify? knock knock knock“ 

Each poll consumes an API request. The request is acknowledged even if no data is changed leading to API requests and eventual throttling of rate is exceeded.  

• Data Gets Synced One by One: 

Processing product data or order information one by one creates hundreds and thousands of API calls in quick succession. When they exceed the prescribed limit, throttling ensures.  

• Retrieving The Same Data Again and Again 

Many integrations are configured to ignore the caching mechanism. As a result, the same data is retrieved again and again. Each redundant request leads the system one step closer to throttling. 

• Improper Error Handling 

When API requests fail due to throttling, ideally we shouldn’t retry immediately. However, integrations often don’t have the intelligence to acknowledge this nuance. Such configurations result in retry storms further taking the quality of services down. 

• Using REST APIs for Bulk Operations 

Shopify offers bulk operations API to facilitate high volume data transactions. Using REST API instead of that for large operations would invariably result in throttling. 

Start your free trial and discover how APPSeCONNECT automates best practices—no coding or manual intervention required.

APPSeCONNECT iPaaS: Best Shopify Rate Limit Workaround For ERP 

There are many Shopify rate limit workarounds for ERP integration. However, most of them require head scratching and a fair bit of technical know-how. APPSEeCONNECT offers a more intuitive and user-friendly way of keeping the API requests within the limit: 

• Intelligent Request Queuing and Batching: 

Basic integrations aren’t smart enough to space their API calls. They fire API requests indiscriminately often crossing the prescribed rate. APPSeCONNECT iPaaS solution is more aware of the limits and it has capability of controlling the number of requests sent per second to avoid throttling when syncing ERP with Shopify 

iPaaS solutions like APPSeCONNECT have the capability of being aware of the API request limits enabling them to dynamically adjust the number of requests. APPSeCONNECT – specifically – has the ability of prioritizing time-sensitive operations (like order processing). By smartly grouping similar requests into batches, the platform further ensures adherence to prescribed rate-limits.  

• Smart Caching Mechanisms 

Why query the same data again and again when you can keep it cached? With APPSeCONNECT smart you can decide which data can be queried from cache and which data needs querying the source for updates.  

The iPaaS platform stores frequently accessed and not-so-frequently modified data as cache. Its smart data freshness requirement analysis capability dynamically queries the platform for newer versions of data. The result? At least 40% reduction in API calls.  

• Smart Use of Webhooks 

APPSeCONNECT uses Shopify webhooks to receive real time updates. The biggest benefit from this is the fact that the iPaaS platform doesn’t need to query Shopify for updates. Rather, Shopify sends any new updates to the iPaaS platform via webhooks. This significantly reduces the overall API usage.  

• Throttling Detection and Self-Correction 

One of the standout features of APPSeCONNECT is its throttling detection capability. By monitoring API response headers, it can detect throttling and immediately employ mechanisms to reduce API requests. What’s more, you can manually set the intervals for retry in the event of an API rate-limit ensuring. A carefully thought-out retry interval makes sure that the system doesn’t experience retry storms.  

• Using Shopify Bulk API vs REST API for ERP Integration 

During implementation, our engineering team makes sure that you follow best practices like using Bulk Operations API to avoid rate-limits permanently. You can optimize request batching based on endpoint requirements. 

Take a Look At What’s Possible With APPSeCONNECT Shopify Integration 

Aren’t There Any Alternatives To APPSeCONNECT To Avoid Throttling When Syncing ERP With Shopify 

If you aren’t fond of no-code / low-code iPaaS solutions, then there are alternative methods. However, iPaaS platforms gracefully handle API requests ensuring no slip-ups and missing data which is why using them is the best way to integrate ERP with Shopify without hitting API limits. And APPSeCONNECT further simplifies this process by being user-friendly and feature-rich – all at the same time. 

• DIY Scripts or Custom ESBs 

Pros: full control, no license fees. 

Cons: steep learning curve, you own maintenance, security, SLA, and of course GDPR/HIPAA headaches. One bad push and your queue implodes.  

• Generic SaaS Automators (Zapier) 

Great for “new order → Slack ping.” However, Rate-limits of 10–300 requests/min cap enterprise workloads. 

• Direct API-to-API Connections 

Pros: Plug and Play 

Cons: No dynamic mechanism to recover from throttling from Shopify’s end. You’ll also feel the absence of dynamic queue technology and customization features.  

• Heavyweight Integration Solutions Vs APPSeCONNECT 

Schedule your personalized demo now and experience seamless ERP-Shopify integration built for scale.

Why iPaaS Like APPSeCONNECT Saves Time and Money Long-Term 

Here are some stats for you:  

• As per Gartner, iPaaS is the fastest growing enterprise software segment with 37.6% YoY growth. 
• Total US e-commerce hit $1.19 T in 2024; integration downtime now has a seven-digit opportunity cost. 
• Shopify processes >10 % of US online shopping.  

Can you realize the importance of Shopify in the US ecommerce space? It processed $236 billion worth of sales globally in 2023. Can you depend on a half-baked, fragile and brittle integration solution? Downtime can prove to be quite costly. 

Custom integrations seldom include monitoring, error handling, or an extended team of code reviewers. APPSeCONNECT provides a smart integration workflow where drag and drop workflow creation can achieve more than DIY scripts. It removes ifs and buts from your Shopify integration. For enterprises that are serious about Shopify and ERP integration, APPSeCONNECT is a  natural choice.  

Three things make APPSeCONNECT the best choice for reliable Shopify integration: 

• Minimal Development Costs 

With pre-built connectors and visual workflow creation, the platform eliminates too much reliance on developers. Business users can go a long way in integrating Shopify with ERP without needing the help of a developer.  

• Reduced Disruption 

Intelligent throttling protection, custom request rate and request time selector offered by APPSeCONNECT prevent business disruptions originating from API rate limit.  

• Future-Proofed Integrations 

When Shopify updates its API (which happens regularly), APPSeCONNECT handles compatibility updates automatically. This eliminates the ongoing maintenance costs that plague custom integrations. 

Compliance Without Complexity 

APPSeCONNECT’s platform is built with GDPR and HIPAA compliance in mind: 

• Data encryption in transit and at rest 
• Configurable data retention policies 
• Audit trails for data access and modifications 
• Geographic data storage options for regulatory compliance 

Schedule a free demo with our experts and discover how APPSeCONNECT can transform your business operations.

The APPSeCONNECT Supremacy  – A Real Case Study 

WTB, a leading U S bike-components brand on Shopify Plus, needed real-time sync with its back-office SAP Business One ERP. 

Order surges – especially around Black Friday – were overwhelming the old DI-Server setup, causing integration failures and risking API-throttling delays. 

APPSeCONNECT migrated WTB to the SAP B1 Service Layer and deployed its iPaaS with smart queuing, bulk operations and throttling detection. 

Result: during the latest Black Friday rush WTB seamlessly synced 99 % of all orders and data, eliminating manual fixes and giving teams more time to focus on growth. 

Try APPSeCONNECT free or book a live demo to see how you can future-proof your Shopify integration.

API Limits Will Be There. Accept It, But Don’t Let It Slow You Down 

Shopify API limits are a necessary evil. These limits help keep Shopify working for all users and keep abusers at bay. Unfortunately, sometimes this leads to integration issues. As your business grows, the last thing you need is to play what we call “integration whack-a-mole” – constantly putting out fires caused by data synchronization issues. 

Visit APPSeCONNECT’s Shopify integration page to learn how our platform can keep your e-commerce operations running smoothly, even as you scale beyond what you thought possible. 

Because when it comes to reliable integration, to quote Captain America, “I can do this all day.” 

And with APPSeCONNECT, your systems can too. 

Book a Demo and See What’s Possible