Read a customer timeline and order history in Shopify
Before you answer a customer's question, read their profile. The timeline shows every order, every email you sent, and every note staff left, in order. This tutorial reads Maya Chen's profile end to end: four orders, two emails, and one note, and checks the totals against what she says she spent.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Customer | Maya Chen |
| Orders | 4 |
| Total spent | $203.25 |
| Average order | $50.81 |
| Emails sent | 2 |
| Notes | 1 |
| Timeline events | 7 |
Download the timeline worksheet: customer-timeline-worksheet.csv (383 bytes, md5 d928885bd8c86f9881b2e028a7d830d6).
A worksheet of the seven timeline events on Maya Chen's profile: four orders, two emails, and one note. The order amounts add to $203.25.
1Open the customer profile
From your Shopify admin, go to Customers, then click the customer name. The overview shows contact details, location, order count, and amount spent at a glance.
2Read the order history first
In the order history on the profile, read the orders newest first. Maya Chen has four: #1001, #1005, #1012, and #1019. Click any order to open it and check what was in it, what was paid, and whether it was refunded.
3Read the timeline in order
In the Timeline section, read the events from the top down: orders placed, emails sent, notes added, and account events. The timeline is the record of what happened to this customer, not a summary, so read it before you reply to them.
4Check the sent emails
Find a sent-email entry in the timeline and click View email to see what was actually sent. If an email failed to send, a warning icon sits next to the entry. You can resend a copy to the customer or to yourself from the same view.
5Check the totals against the customer's claim
Compare the profile's order count and total spent with what the customer says. Maya's four orders total $203.25, an average of $50.81 per order. If the numbers do not match, check for a second profile under another email address before telling the customer they are wrong.
The arithmetic
Maya Chen's four orders, with the amounts from the profile.
| Order | Items | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| #1001 | 2 × Trail Crew Tee $28.00 | $56.00 |
| #1005 | 1 × Summit Hoodie $45.00 | $45.00 |
| #1012 | 1 × Ridge Backpack $89.50 | $89.50 |
| #1019 | 1 × Camp Mug $12.75 | $12.75 |
| Total spent | 4 orders | $203.25 |
$56.00 plus $45.00 plus $89.50 plus $12.75 equals $203.25. The average order is $203.25 divided by 4, which is $50.81. The timeline holds 4 order events plus 2 email events plus 1 note, which is 7 events.
Held at the counter
The timeline shows this store only. Orders placed on another platform, or at a market stall you never recorded, do not appear. A customer who says they spent more may be right about a purchase Shopify never saw.
A warning icon means the email did not go out. After an email is sent, a notification shows in the timeline, and a failed send carries a warning icon next to it. A customer who says they never got the email may be telling the truth.
Total spent is not money in the bank. The figure counts completed orders in this store, and refunds change it. Do not quote it as profit, and do not use it to settle a refund dispute.
Sources
- Managing customers — Shopify's help pages: opening a customer profile, the timeline section, viewing and resending a sent email, and the warning icon on a failed send.