See which customers Shopify won’t merge, and why
Shopify blocks some customer merges, such as a profile with a subscription contract or store credit. MergeGuard for Shopify shows these groups as protected profiles and names the Shopify blocker for each profile that can’t merge. It never merges them automatically, and the Newsletter, VIP, Win-back and Subscription audiences can still count them as one person.
Last updated
Demo store (Northsail Supply)
Tom Bennett, 2 profiles
Protected
ATom Bennett
tom.bennett@gmail.com
6 orders, £654
BThomas Bennett
tbennett@outlook.com
4 orders, £362
Shopify blocks this profile
Merge is unavailable. Shopify’s rule:
Either of the customer profiles has, or has ever had, a subscription contract.
What the app offers
- Close and Not a duplicateThe sheet has no Merge button, and nothing changes in Shopify. Protected profiles are never merged automatically.
- Counted as one person in AudiencesThe Newsletter, VIP, Win-back and Subscription audiences count the group as one person. On the VIP lists (from Growth), VIPs on profiles Shopify can’t merge: Their profiles stay separate. Their spend still counts together. Together, Tom Bennett spent £1,016.
You find two profiles that are clearly one customer, and Shopify says no
Shopify lists nine situations in which it won’t merge two customer profiles. A subscription contract is one of them, even one that ended years ago. Without the rule in front of you, you can’t tell whether to wait, change something or leave the profiles apart. MergeGuard names the blocker for each profile and leaves the profiles alone.
Demo store (Northsail Supply)
- Protected groups
- 6
- Strong
- 18
- Needs your judgment
- 11
How it works
MergeGuard spots the blocker
Groups that Shopify won’t merge go to the Protected group instead of your groups to merge.
See which rule applies
Each protected group shows the Shopify blocker for each profile that can’t merge. The review sheet offers Close and Not a duplicate, and no Merge.
The profiles stay apart in Shopify
MergeGuard leaves protected profiles as they are, and automatic merging skips them.
Count them as one person in Audiences
The Newsletter, VIP, Win-back and Subscription audiences count the profiles as one person, for example a VIP whose spend sits on two profiles. Their subscription isn’t touched.
The nine Shopify blockers
Shopify’s help page on merging customers lists these cases. A merge is blocked when:
- Either profile has, or has ever had, a subscription contract.
- Either profile is a B2B customer linked to a company, or still linked to past B2B orders.
- Either profile has a vaulted credit card (a card saved for future payments).
- Either profile has a store credit account.
- Either profile has a Multipass login.
- Either profile has been deleted.
- Either profile has been redacted (its personal data erased), or a data redaction request is in progress.
- A customer profile merge is in progress.
- A customer data request is in progress.
Source: Shopify Help Center, Merge customers. For what each rule means and what you can do, read why Shopify won’t merge some customers. To compare MergeGuard with Shopify’s own merge, see MergeGuard vs Shopify’s built-in merge.
What you control
- Blocker for each profile
- Each protected group names the Shopify blocker for every profile that can’t merge. You can close the sheet, or mark the group not a duplicate.
- One person in Audiences
- Count a customer split across protected profiles once in the Newsletter, VIP, Win-back and Subscription audiences, without merging the profiles or touching the subscription.
What it never does
- Protected profiles are never merged automatically.
- MergeGuard can’t bypass Shopify’s merge rules.
- Counting protected profiles as one person in Audiences never touches their subscription.
- MergeGuard never messages your customers.
What can be undone
Protected profiles stay unmerged in Shopify. Any merge MergeGuard does make is permanent, with a snapshot of each merged customer kept in History.
- Merges
- Permanent.Shopify merges can’t be undone. MergeGuard keeps a snapshot.
- Contact fixes
- Can be undone once.The undo is its own record and uses 1 fix.
Works with
Questions merchants ask
Why won’t Shopify merge these customers?
Shopify lists nine cases. The most common involve a profile that has, or has ever had, a subscription contract, a B2B company link, a vaulted credit card, a store credit account or a Multipass login. Deleted and redacted profiles are blocked too, and so is any merge while another merge or a customer data request is in progress.
Can MergeGuard merge them anyway?
No. MergeGuard merges through Shopify and follows Shopify’s rules. It shows the Shopify blocker for each profile that can’t merge.
A customer had a subscription years ago. Can I ever merge their profiles?
Shopify’s rule covers any profile that has, or has ever had, a subscription contract, so that profile stays blocked. You can still count it with the customer’s other profiles in Audiences.
Do protected customers still show up in my lists?
Yes. The Newsletter, VIP, Win-back and Subscription audiences count a customer split across protected profiles as one person. The VIP audience also has its own list, VIPs on profiles Shopify can’t merge.
Learn more
- Why Shopify creates duplicate customersThe common causes of duplicate customer profiles in Shopify, from guest checkout and second emails to POS and imports, marked documented or merchant-reported.
- Guest checkout and duplicate customers in ShopifyWhy guest checkout splits one shopper across several Shopify profiles, how to find those duplicates safely, and what Shopify’s merge rules mean.
See which customers Shopify protects
Install MergeGuard for Shopify free and see every protected group with the Shopify rule behind it. The Protected view works on every plan, Free included.