Shopify Customer Management

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Web-search site:shopify.dev customer account api for Customer Account API
2. Web-search site:shopify.dev customer graphql admin api for customer mutations
3. Web-search site:shopify.dev multipass for SSO integration
4. Web-search site:shopify.dev customer segmentation api for segmentation queries
5. Web-search site:shopify.dev b2b company accounts for B2B features

Customer Account Types

New Customer Accounts

Modern, Shopify-hosted accounts:

• Passwordless login (email verification code or Shop app)
• OAuth-based API access (Customer Account API)
• Customizable with account extensions
• Supports order history, addresses, profile management
• Recommended for all new stores

Classic Customer Accounts

Legacy accounts:

• Password-based login
• Liquid-based pages (customers/login.liquid, customers/account.liquid)
• Being replaced by new customer accounts
• Still supported but no longer receiving new features

Customer Account API

For headless/custom account experiences (used in Hydrogen):

• OAuth 2.0 authentication flow
• Access customer data: orders, addresses, profile
• Customer-initiated actions: update profile, manage addresses
• Separate from Admin API — scoped to the authenticated customer

Fetch live docs: Web-search site:shopify.dev customer account api reference for current OAuth flow endpoints, available queries, and token handling.

Admin API Customer Operations

Key Mutations

Fetch live docs for each mutation's input fields — CustomerInput and related types change across API versions.

Minimal Query Pattern

# Pattern: query customer with orders and metafields
# Fetch live docs for current available fields
query Customer($id: ID!) {
  customer(id: $id) {
    id
    firstName
    lastName
    email
    phone
    tags
    addresses { address1 city province country zip }
    orders(first: 10) {
      edges {
        node { id name totalPrice { amount currencyCode } }
      }
    }
    metafields(first: 5) {
      edges {
        node { namespace key value type }
      }
    }
  }
}

Customer Search

# Search customers by email, name, or other fields
query Customers($query: String!) {
  customers(first: 10, query: $query) {
    edges { node { id email firstName lastName } }
  }
}
# query: "email:customer@example.com" or "first_name:John"

Fetch live docs for query filter syntax and searchable fields.

Multipass SSO

Single sign-on for Shopify stores (Shopify Plus only):

• Encrypt customer data with Multipass secret → generate token
• Redirect to {store}.myshopify.com/account/login/multipass/{token}
• Customer is logged in without entering credentials
• Used for: external identity providers, membership sites, B2B portals

Multipass Flow

Your site → Encrypt customer JSON with Multipass secret → Base64 token
→ Redirect to Shopify /account/login/multipass/{token}
→ Customer auto-logged in

Required customer data in the token: email (required), plus optional first_name, last_name, tag_string, return_to, remote_ip.

Fetch live docs: Web-search site:shopify.dev multipass for current encryption algorithm, token format, and required fields. The encryption method (AES-128-CBC + HMAC-SHA256) is stable but verify key derivation steps.

Customer Segmentation

Filter customers based on criteria:

• ShopifyQL-style filters: orders_count > 5 AND total_spent > 100
• Used for marketing campaigns and analytics
• Accessible via Admin API and Shopify admin
• Supports: order history, spending, location, tags, dates, custom attributes

Fetch live docs: Web-search site:shopify.dev customer segmentation filters for current filter syntax and available attributes.

B2B (Company Accounts)

Shopify Plus feature:

• Companies with multiple locations
• Company-specific catalogs and price lists
• Payment terms (Net 30, Net 60)
• Draft order workflows for B2B purchasing
• Company contacts linked to customer records

B2B Data Model

Company
├── Locations (billing/shipping)
├── Contacts (linked to customers)
├── Catalogs (company-specific pricing)
│   └── Price Lists
└── Payment Terms

Fetch live docs: Web-search site:shopify.dev b2b api company for company mutations, catalog assignment, and payment terms configuration.

Marketing Consent

GDPR/privacy compliance:

• Email marketing consent: SUBSCRIBED, NOT_SUBSCRIBED, PENDING, UNSUBSCRIBED
• SMS marketing consent (separate from email)
• Must honor consent status in all communications
• Consent recorded with timestamp and source
• Manage via customerEmailMarketingConsentUpdate and customerSmsMarketingConsentUpdate

Fetch live docs for consent mutation input fields and consent state transition rules.

Best Practices

• Use new customer accounts (not classic) for new stores
• Implement Multipass SSO for stores with external auth systems
• Always check and respect marketing consent before sending communications
• Store custom customer data in metafields (not tags for structured data)
• Use customer segmentation for targeted marketing
• Handle GDPR data requests via mandatory webhooks (customers/data_request, customers/redact)
• Use customerMerge for duplicate records instead of manual data transfer
• For B2B: set up companies and catalogs before onboarding wholesale customers

Fetch the Shopify Customer Account API, Multipass, and B2B documentation for exact OAuth flows, encryption details, mutation inputs, and segmentation syntax before implementing.