# Find Shopify Merchant Pain Points and App Ideas on Reddit

**Use case:** 

This task extracts Reddit posts and comments discussing Shopify store problems to help SaaS developers identify software gaps. It returns fields like recordType, title, content, score, and commentCount. Users can adapt the research by changing the searchQuery or withinCommunity fields to target different e-commerce platforms or specific business niches.

## Input

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "source": "archive",
  "subreddits": [
    "programming",
    "r/Python"
  ],
  "postUrls": [
    "https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/1vqukkf/",
    "1xbw0h8"
  ],
  "usernames": [
    "spez"
  ],
  "searchQuery": "problems",
  "maxItems": 100,
  "maxPosts": 2,
  "maxComments": 50,
  "maxDepth": 6,
  "includeComments": true,
  "includePost": true,
  "sort": "top",
  "timeFilter": "year",
  "commentSort": "confidence",
  "includeNSFW": false,
  "includeSubredditInfo": false,
  "includeSubredditRules": false,
  "includeProfileInfo": true,
  "sections": [
    "posts"
  ],
  "searchPosts": true,
  "searchComments": true,
  "searchCommunities": false,
  "searchUsers": false,
  "withinCommunity": "shopify",
  "maxCommunities": 0,
  "maxUsers": 0,
  "onlyNew": false,
  "stateKey": "reddit-mcp-state",
  "failOnEmpty": false,
  "maxProxyBytesMb": 50,
  "proxyMode": "none",
  "authors": [],
  "excludeAuthors": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "excludeStickied": false,
  "excludeRemoved": false,
  "excludeCrossposts": false,
  "excludeSpoilers": false,
  "excludeLocked": false,
  "excludeDeletedAuthor": false,
  "excludeArchived": false,
  "onlyWithFlair": false,
  "onlyOriginalContent": false,
  "restrictSubreddits": []
}
```

## Output

```json
{
  "recordType": {
    "label": "Record type"
  },
  "subreddit_prefixed": {
    "label": "Subreddit prefixed"
  },
  "title": {
    "label": "Title"
  },
  "author": {
    "label": "Author"
  },
  "score": {
    "label": "Score"
  },
  "commentCount": {
    "label": "Comment count"
  },
  "source": {
    "label": "Source"
  },
  "createdAt": {
    "label": "Created at"
  },
  "permalink": {
    "label": "Permalink"
  }
}
```

## How it works

### 1. Sign up on Apify or log in

The Reddit Multi-Mode Scraper for Posts, Comments & Profiles Actor is ready to run with the inputs already set for "Find Shopify Merchant Pain Points and App Ideas on Reddit". [Sign up or log in](https://console.apify.com/create-task-from-example/WxpdyrHaDb6sc5Hay) and you'll land in Apify Console with a copy of this exact task.

### 2. Start the "Find Shopify Merchant Pain Points and App Ideas on Reddit" task

The Reddit Multi-Mode Scraper for Posts, Comments & Profiles Actor will start running based on the input automatically. You can also change all the input fields, like mode, data source, and more, to match your specific use case.

### 3. Receive the "Find Shopify Merchant Pain Points and App Ideas on Reddit" output

Monitor the progress in real time. You will be notified as soon as your dataset is complete and ready for review. Each result includes data such as record type, subreddit prefixed, title, and more.

### 4. Integrate into your workflow

The final output is delivered in JSON, CSV, or Excel format, ready to be plugged into your workflow. You can also [run the "Find Shopify Merchant Pain Points and App Ideas on Reddit" task via API](https://apify.com/nimbryxo-studio/reddit-multi-mode-scraper-for-posts-comments.md).

## FAQ

### How can I find Shopify app ideas from Reddit discussions about store problems?

The Shopify Reddit research task searches r/shopify for “problems” and returns matching posts and comments to help explore merchant pain points and software gaps.

### What Reddit results does the Shopify search return?

The Shopify Reddit research task can return posts and comments with fields such as record type, title, content, score, and comment count.

### How do I search Reddit for Shopify merchant problems from the past year?

The Shopify Reddit research task is set to search r/shopify for “problems,” sort by top, and use a one-year time filter.

### How many Shopify Reddit results can one run return?

One run of the Shopify Reddit research task is capped at 100 total records across results; the actual number can be lower.

### Can I change the keyword or subreddit for Shopify Reddit research?

Change the search phrase or community in the Shopify Reddit research task to target other e-commerce platforms or specific business niches.

### How much does a run of the Shopify Reddit research task cost?

At a 100-result cap, result charges for the Shopify Reddit research task are at most $0.099 on the Free plan; Actor start charges and Apify compute usage are additional.

### How can I export or automate Shopify Reddit research results?

Results from the Shopify Reddit research task land in a dataset downloadable as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, RSS, or HTML table; runs can be scheduled or started through the Apify API and integrations.

## About this Actor

This example demonstrates how to use [Reddit Multi-Mode Scraper for Posts, Comments & Profiles](https://apify.com/nimbryxo-studio/reddit-multi-mode-scraper-for-posts-comments.md) with a specific input configuration. Visit the [Actor detail page](https://apify.com/nimbryxo-studio/reddit-multi-mode-scraper-for-posts-comments.md) to learn more, explore other use cases, and run it yourself.


## How to integrate an Actor?

This Task's input is already configured above. Use it as-is rather than inventing a new one.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For full API examples (JavaScript, Python, CLI, MCP, OpenAPI), see this Task's Actor page: https://apify.com/nimbryxo-studio/reddit-multi-mode-scraper-for-posts-comments.md

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).