Running a D2C brand means managing relationships, but sometimes, your Shopify admin throws a wrench into the system: duplicate customer records.

Maybe a shopper used two different emails with the same phone number. Maybe they checked out as a guest first, then created an account. Or maybe they used a different name but the same number.

Whatever the case, duplicate profiles = incomplete data, broken retention automations, and missed opportunities.

So, how do you clean up the mess and merge customer records? Here’s what you need to know:
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Why Does Shopify Create Duplicate Customers?

Shopify doesn’t automatically merge customer records. You can end up with multiple profiles when:

• A customer uses different phone numbers.
  
• They use the same number but a different name.
  
• They check out as a guest and then create an account later.
  

This leads to:

• Split order history
  
• Incorrect RFM segmentation (Recency, Frequency, Monetary)
  
• Confusing customer support
  
• Broken retention automations
  
• Incorrect customer tags syncing with Shopify
  
  

How Zoko Helps You Spot Duplicates

Zoko automatically detects duplicate customer records from your Shopify store and displays them right inside the chat screen, under the customer profile.

• It doesn’t matter how many duplicates exist, we’ll show you the count of linked records (e.g., 2, 3, etc.).
  
• We also auto-tag these duplicates in your Shopify store with the tag ZOKO_CUSTOMER_CONFLICT, so you can easily filter and find them using filters.

Check the screenshots below to see how this looks inside your Zoko account.

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How to Merge Customer Records Manually in Shopify

Once you have identified a conflict, the goal is to consolidate everything into one customer profile. After the merge, only a single record remains, and the Customer Conflict sign in Zoko is gone.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Copy the phone number from the customer profile where the “Customer Conflict” sign is visible in Zoko.

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2. Go to your Shopify Store Admin.

Paste the number into the search bar and open each matching customer profile in a new tab.

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3. Choose the primary profile -  ideally, the one with the most complete data like order history, tags, etc.). This will be the profile you keep, and all other duplicate profiles will be merged into it.

In the duplicate customer profile, click on More Actions → Merge Customers.

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4. In the Find a customer to merge with field, type the phone number and select the primary profile.

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5. Review the details, click Merge, and then confirm the action in the pop-up window by clicking Confirm.

‍That’s it!

Now head back to your Zoko dashboard, refresh the customer’s profile, and you’ll see that the Customer Conflict sign is gone, confirming that the merge was successful.

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Keywords: Merge customer records, Duplicate customer profile, Customer conflict, Customer data merge, Remove duplicate customer

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