Guide
How to merge customers in Shopify: the complete rules
Shopify merges two customer profiles at a time and can’t reverse a merge. It combines orders, addresses, notes and tags, keeps the profile tied to the email you choose, and refuses a merge in nine cases. Review each pair first, because a subscribed profile makes the merged profile subscribed.
By MergeGuard team
Last updated
4 min read
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Merging two customer profiles takes a few clicks in Shopify, and the result stays. This guide covers the procedure and the decisions inside it: what combines, which profile remains, what Shopify refuses and what to check first. For the reference details, it points to pages that hold them in full.
Key insight
Orders are permanently associated with the account that placed them, and the merge cannot be reversed.
Two at a time
In the Shopify admin, open a customer from Customers, choose More actions, then Merge customer. Under “Find a customer to merge with”, search by first name, last name, email address, phone number or credit card number, and select the matching profile.
The “Merged customer” section shows what will be merged and what will be discarded. You can adjust the contact information, view the merge details, then choose Merge and Confirm. You can also select two customers in the customer list and merge them from there.
Shopify merges two profiles per merge. Its help page says: “To merge more than 2 customers together, repeat the procedure for each additional profile.” If the information conflicts, you can cancel the merge and edit each profile first.
The pages we read describe no automatic duplicate finder. To find the pairs, see how to find duplicate customers in Shopify.
What combines and what limits apply
Shopify lists this information as merged into one profile: orders, draft orders, addresses, email address, phone number, name, notes, tags, tax settings, timeline events, credit cards, customer accounts, gift cards and discounts.
Two limits apply to the merged profile. The combined notes must be 5,000 characters or fewer, including spaces, and the combined tags are limited to 250. For example: Two profiles each hold a long customer note. Together the notes run over the limit for the merged profile, so they need shortening before the merge. Worked example (made up) Check both limits before you start a large cleanup.
For the full list of what moves where, read what happens when you merge customers.
Which profile remains
Which profile survives depends on the email address. If only one profile has an email address, that profile remains. If both have one, the profile tied to the email address kept on the merged record remains. If neither has one, the profile you selected under “Find a customer to merge with” remains.
So the kept email is the lever. Which profile Shopify keeps walks through the rule and the API version of it.
Orders stay with the account that placed them
Shopify says “Orders are permanently associated with the customer account that placed them.” You cannot move a single order from one customer to another, even after changing the order’s contact email. Merging the profiles is how a split order history comes together.
In MergeGuard’s demo store, Amelia Hughes: 3 profiles, 4 + 3 + 2 orders → one customer with 9 orders Demo store (Northsail Supply) shows the result: a customer who looked like three smaller ones.
Demo store (Northsail Supply)
One person, several profiles
Merged two at a time, the three profiles end as one customer with 9 orders.
What Shopify refuses
Shopify will not merge a pair when either profile falls into one of nine cases. They include a subscription contract now or at any time before, a B2B company link, a saved credit card, a store credit account, a Multipass login, a deleted or erased profile, and a merge or data request already in progress. These are protected profiles.
Some clear with time and others stay with the profile for good. The page why Shopify blocks some merges gives Shopify’s wording for each and what you can do. MergeGuard merges through Shopify, so the same nine apply to it.
It is permanent
Shopify’s help page says: “After the profiles are merged, you can’t reverse the process.” It also says the customer is not told. Consent carries over, too: if the customer is subscribed to email and SMS text marketing in one profile, but not in the other, then the merged profile is subscribed.
Take those together and the decision is clear. A wrong merge of two different people puts their orders on one record and can subscribe someone who never agreed. When a pair is unclear, leave it for later. Same address, same person? shows how to judge a close call.
Check why the profiles match
A shared phone and a near-identical email are strong. A shared address is a reason to look.
Choose the kept email
It decides which profile remains.
Check marketing subscriptions
A subscribed profile makes the merged profile subscribed.
Check the nine blockers and the notes and tags limits
Do it before a cleanup, not mid-way through it.
Record what you merged and why
A merge cannot be reversed, so the record is how you answer questions later.
The customerMerge API in one paragraph
Shopify’s Admin GraphQL API has a customerMerge mutation that merges two customers and needs the write_customer_merge access scope. Its two ID arguments do not promise which customer is kept: the first is described as not guaranteed to be kept. The page lists rules in order, starting with an override email, then the only customer that has an email, then account state and email marketing consent, and finally the second ID. The page describes the resulting customer ID it returns as authoritative, and it recommends a preview before you merge. MergeGuard merges through Shopify, so Shopify’s rules apply to it too.
Self-assessment
Four questions about your own practice. Each answer is worth 0, 1 or 2 points. This is a self-check: nothing is stored or sent.
Add up the points beside your answers (the highest total is 8) and find your total in the list below.
0 to 2: Read the permanence and blockers first
Start with what a merge does and which profiles Shopify refuses. Those two facts shape every plan.
3 to 5: You know the rules; add a record
Keep a searchable record of each merge so you can answer questions later.
6 to 8: Your process is sound
Keep the checks. A checklist helps when someone else does the merging.
Sources
Related
- Which profile does Shopify keep when you merge customers?In Shopify’s admin the email you keep decides which profile remains. See the rule, what happens to the other profile, the API rule ladder and how to choose.
- How to find duplicate customers in ShopifyShopify’s help pages describe no duplicate finder. Export your customers, group them by phone, email and address, and count duplicates before you merge.
- Customer mergeA customer merge combines Shopify profiles into one customer. See what Shopify combines, why it is permanent, and how marketing status carries over.
- Kept profileThe kept profile is the one that remains after you merge duplicate customers. Learn how Shopify decides it and how you choose the details to keep.
- Protected profileA protected profile is a customer Shopify blocks from merging, such as one with a past subscription or store credit. See why, and what you can still do with it.
- Why can’t I merge customers in Shopify?Shopify blocks some customer merges. Here are the 9 cases from Shopify’s help page, what each one means, and what you can still do with those profiles.
- MergeGuard vs Shopify’s built-in customer mergeShopify merges two customer profiles at a time, by hand, for free. See where MergeGuard adds duplicate finding, evidence and group merges, and the shared rules.
- What happens when you merge customer profiles in ShopifyWhen Shopify customer profiles merge, orders, addresses, notes and tags move to one profile, a subscribed profile keeps it subscribed, and it can’t be undone.
- How to bulk merge duplicate customers in ShopifyShopify admin merges two profiles at a time. Bulk merge duplicate customers with MergeGuard: whole groups, every strong match in one pass, or automatically.
- A group shows as Protected: what to doA Protected group holds profiles Shopify won’t merge. Find the blocker, see what MergeGuard does, and learn how Audiences still count one person.
- Delete or merge a duplicate customer in Shopify?Shopify can’t undo a deleted customer and blocks deleting any profile with orders. See when to delete a duplicate, when to merge it and when to leave it alone.