Managing Customers

Your customers are the heart of your business. CartOS keeps track of everyone who creates an account or places an order, giving you a complete view of each customer's history and the tools to build lasting relationships. This guide covers everything you need to know about managing customer data.

The customers list

Go to Customers in your admin sidebar to see everyone who has interacted with your store. The list shows:

  • Customer name and email
  • Total orders placed
  • Total amount spent
  • Account status
  • Date added

Searching and filtering

Find customers by searching for name, email, phone number, or order number. Use filters to narrow down your list:

  • Has account – Registered customers vs. guest checkouts
  • Email subscription – Subscribed to marketing vs. not
  • Orders – Number of orders (e.g., "more than 3")
  • Amount spent – Total spend ranges
  • Location – Country, state, or city
  • Tags – Custom tags you've applied
  • Date – When they became a customer

Saved views

Save filter combinations you use frequently. Click Save View after applying filters. Common saved views:

  • VIP customers (spent over $500)
  • Repeat customers (3+ orders)
  • Recent customers (last 30 days)
  • Local customers (your city or region)
  • Unsubscribed from email

Customer profiles

Click any customer to open their profile—a complete view of their relationship with your store.

Overview

The profile header shows key stats at a glance:

  • Total spent – Lifetime value
  • Orders – Total order count
  • Average order – Typical order value
  • Customer since – When they first ordered

Contact information

View and edit customer details:

  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Default shipping address
  • Default billing address
  • Additional addresses (customers can save multiple)

Click Edit to update any information. Changes take effect immediately.

Order history

See every order this customer has placed, with status, total, and date. Click any order to view details. This history helps you:

  • Understand what they typically buy
  • See their purchase frequency
  • Identify patterns or preferences
  • Quickly reference past orders when they contact support

Timeline

A chronological log of customer activity and interactions:

  • Orders placed
  • Account created
  • Emails sent and opened
  • Support conversations
  • Notes added by your team
  • Profile updates

The timeline gives context when helping a customer or reviewing their history.

Customer notes and tags

Adding notes

Add internal notes to customer profiles that only your team can see:

  1. Open the customer profile
  2. In the Notes section, click Add Note
  3. Type your note and save

Use notes for:

  • Special requests or preferences ("Always ships to work address")
  • Support context ("Had issue with order #1234, resolved with refund")
  • VIP treatment reminders ("Include handwritten thank you")
  • Cautions ("Disputed charge in May, document everything")

Tagging customers

Tags help you organize and segment customers. Add tags in the customer profile or in bulk from the customer list.

Common tag uses:

  • VIP – High-value customers
  • Wholesale – Business customers
  • Influencer – Content creators you work with
  • Problem – Customers requiring extra care
  • Event attendee – Customers from specific events
  • Referral source – How they found you

Tags can trigger automations, filter email campaigns, or simply help you find specific groups later.

Customer accounts

Account vs. guest checkout

Customers can place orders two ways:

  • Guest checkout – No account required, just email. Customer record is created but they can't log in.
  • Account checkout – Customer creates or logs into an account. They can view order history, save addresses, track orders.

Configure your preference in Settings › Checkout:

  • Accounts disabled – Guest checkout only
  • Accounts optional – Customers choose (recommended for most stores)
  • Accounts required – Must create account to checkout

Account benefits for customers

  • View order history and status
  • Track shipments
  • Save multiple addresses
  • Faster checkout with saved information
  • Access to wishlists
  • Manage subscriptions (if applicable)
  • View loyalty points (if applicable)

Inviting customers to create accounts

For existing customers without accounts, you can send an invitation:

  1. Open the customer profile
  2. Click Send Account Invite
  3. They receive an email to set up their password

You can also invite customers in bulk from the customer list.

Resetting customer passwords

If a customer can't log in:

  • Direct them to the "Forgot password" link on your login page
  • Or from their profile, click Reset Password to send a reset email

Customer segments

Segments are dynamic groups of customers based on criteria you define. Unlike tags (which are manually applied), segments update automatically as customers meet or no longer meet the criteria.

Creating segments

  1. Go to Customers › Segments
  2. Click Create Segment
  3. Add conditions (filters)
  4. Name your segment and save

Segment conditions

Build segments using combinations of:

  • Purchase behavior – Orders count, total spent, average order, last order date
  • Product history – Purchased specific products or collections
  • Location – Country, state, city, postal code
  • Email status – Subscribed, opened emails, clicked links
  • Account status – Has account, account created date
  • Tags – Has or doesn't have specific tags
  • Custom fields – Any custom data you track

Example segments

High-value customers

  • Total spent greater than $500
  • Order count greater than 2

At risk of churning

  • Last order more than 90 days ago
  • Total orders greater than 1

Local customers

  • City equals "Portland"
  • State equals "Oregon"

Email engaged

  • Email subscribed is true
  • Opened email in last 30 days

Using segments

Once created, segments can be used for:

  • Targeted email campaigns
  • Automation triggers
  • Export for analysis or external tools
  • Viewing as filtered lists

Adding customers manually

To add a customer without them placing an order:

  1. Go to Customers
  2. Click Add Customer
  3. Enter their information
  4. Choose whether to send account invitation
  5. Save

Use this for:

  • Wholesale customers you're onboarding
  • In-person customers you want to track
  • Leads from trade shows or events
  • Migrating customers from another system

Importing and exporting customers

Importing customers

Bring in customers from another system:

  1. Go to Customers
  2. Click Import
  3. Upload a CSV file
  4. Map columns to customer fields
  5. Review and import

Required fields: email address. Optional: name, phone, addresses, tags, notes, marketing status.

When importing, you can choose to:

  • Skip duplicates (by email)
  • Update existing customers with new data
  • Send account invitations to imported customers

Exporting customers

Export customer data for analysis, backups, or use in other tools:

  1. Go to Customers
  2. Apply filters for the customers you want (or select all)
  3. Click Export
  4. Choose fields to include
  5. Download CSV

Exports respect your current filters and segment selections.

Customer communication

Viewing communication history

The customer timeline shows all emails sent to them—transactional and marketing—with open and click data when available.

Sending emails to individuals

From a customer profile, click Send Email to send a one-off message. This is useful for:

  • Personal follow-ups
  • Responses to inquiries
  • Special offers for VIP customers

Bulk email campaigns

For marketing emails to groups, use the Automation Bolt. Create a campaign targeting a segment, tag, or filter criteria. See Getting Started with the Automation Bolt.

Email subscription status

Each customer has an email marketing status:

  • Subscribed – Opted in to marketing emails
  • Not subscribed – Never opted in
  • Unsubscribed – Previously subscribed but opted out

You can update this status manually in their profile, but respect customer preferences—don't resubscribe someone who unsubscribed.

Transactional emails (order confirmations, shipping notifications) are sent regardless of marketing status.

Tax exemptions

Some customers shouldn't be charged tax—resellers, nonprofits, or government entities.

Marking a customer tax-exempt

  1. Open the customer profile
  2. In the Tax section, click Edit
  3. Enable Tax Exempt
  4. Optionally enter exemption certificate number
  5. Select which jurisdictions the exemption applies to (or all)
  6. Save

When this customer places orders while logged in, no tax is charged (for applicable jurisdictions).

Keep exemption certificates on file externally for audit purposes.

Customer groups and pricing

Customer groups

If you use the B2B/Wholesale Bolt, you can assign customers to groups:

  • Retail (default)
  • Wholesale
  • VIP
  • Custom groups you create

Groups can have different pricing, discounts, and access to products.

Customer-specific pricing

For wholesale or special customers, you can set custom pricing that overrides your standard prices when they log in. Configure this in the customer profile or use price lists for groups.

Merging duplicate customers

Sometimes the same person ends up with multiple customer records (different email addresses, guest checkout then account creation, etc.).

To merge duplicates:

  1. Find one of the duplicate records
  2. Click ⋮ menu and select Merge Customer
  3. Search for and select the other record
  4. Choose which details to keep (primary email, name, etc.)
  5. Confirm merge

Merging combines order history, combines addresses, and consolidates the timeline. This action can't be undone.

Deleting customers

To delete a customer:

  1. Open the customer profile
  2. Click ⋮ menu and select Delete Customer
  3. Confirm deletion

What gets deleted

  • Customer profile and personal information
  • Addresses
  • Notes and tags
  • Account access (if they had one)

What's preserved

  • Order records (for accounting/legal purposes)—customer info is anonymized
  • Analytics data (in aggregate)

GDPR and data requests

If a customer requests their data under GDPR or similar regulations:

  • Data export – Export their profile and order history from the customer profile
  • Data deletion – Delete the customer as described above

CartOS provides tools to help you comply, but you're responsible for responding to requests appropriately for your jurisdiction.

Customer analytics

Understand your customer base in Analytics › Customers:

  • New vs. returning – First-time vs. repeat purchasers
  • Customer growth – New customers over time
  • Lifetime value – Average customer LTV and distribution
  • Purchase frequency – How often customers buy
  • Cohort analysis – How different cohorts perform over time
  • Geographic distribution – Where your customers are

Use these insights to understand your business and inform marketing strategy.

Best practices

Keep data clean

  • Merge duplicates when you find them
  • Update incorrect information
  • Remove truly outdated records (while keeping order history)

Use notes and tags consistently

  • Establish tag conventions with your team
  • Document what each tag means
  • Add notes for anything that might help later

Respect privacy

  • Only collect information you need
  • Honor unsubscribe requests
  • Respond to data requests promptly
  • Keep customer data secure

Build relationships

  • Recognize loyal customers
  • Personalize communication when possible
  • Use customer insights to serve them better

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