Shopify’s Promoted Placements feature has entered beta and now expands to cover Shop Campaigns. When a product appears via the Catalog API as part of a merchant‑funded Shop Campaign, the commission you earn includes both Shopify’s base rate and the merchant’s contribution—all delivered in the same response field you already use.
What’s New? Promoted Placements Now Includes Shop Campaigns
The update adds Shop Campaigns—Shopify’s native ad offering—to the list of external platforms that feed the Catalog API. For any product returned by a search_catalog query that originates from a merchant running a Shop Campaign, the placement.commission.percentage.value field now reflects the combined commission rate (Shopify base + merchant‑funded). Buyers clicking those product links are taken directly to the merchant’s shop.com storefront.
Who Needs to Pay Attention – Developers vs. Merchants
Developers building affiliate, discovery, or comparison apps are the primary audience; the API change is transparent to merchants. Merchants who have already opted into the Promoted Placements beta and enabled “Earn commission for a saved catalog” will automatically see the higher commission values—no extra setup is required on their side.
How the Commission Data Is Delivered
The Catalog API response structure remains unchanged. The only difference is the numeric value inside placement.commission.percentage.value. Previously this field returned Shopify’s base rate (e.g., 5%). After the update it can return a higher percentage, such as 12.5%, when a Shop Campaign contributes additional commission.
{
"placement": {
"commission": {
"percentage": {
"value": 12.5
}
}
}
}
Implementation Checklist – No Action Required, But Verify
• Keep sending your enrolled catalog.catalog_id in every search_catalog request.
• Continue routing buyers to the exact variant URL returned in the API response.
• If you display commission rates in your UI or reports, read them from placement.commission.percentage.value – the value now varies product‑by‑product.
Best Practices for Reporting the Updated Commission
Because the commission rate can differ per product, cache the value only for the duration of the request. Log the raw placement.commission.percentage.value alongside the product ID, and calculate any revenue share on the fly. This ensures your analytics stay accurate as merchants toggle Shop Campaign budgets.
Next Steps and Getting Involved in the Beta
If you haven’t joined the Promoted Placements beta yet, request an invite via the Shopify developer docs. Existing participants should monitor the Catalog API responses for the new commission values and update any internal dashboards accordingly. Stay tuned to the Developer Changelog for future refinements.
