Skip to main content

Customer Management

Saleor enables staff users and authorized apps to manage customer accounts and data. While customers can register and manage their own accounts, there are many scenarios where staff or third-party apps need to interact with customer data directly for support, marketing, analytics, or system integration.

Managing customer data is essential for:

  • Support: Update customer details, reset passwords, or deactivate accounts on request.
  • Data Quality: Correct errors, merge duplicates, or enrich customer profiles.
  • Compliance: Remove or anonymize data for privacy regulations.
  • Integrations: Sync customer data with external systems via apps or automation.

Permissions​

Managing customers is available to users and apps with the MANAGE_USERS permission.

Creating a Customer​

You can create customer accounts using either the Saleor Dashboard (admin UI) or the API:

  • Dashboard: Staff users can manually create customer accounts through the Customers section in the Dashboard.
  • API: Staff users or apps can create customer accounts programmatically using the customerCreate mutation.

Unlike the accountRegister mutation, where a password must be set immediately, when a customer account is created by staff or an app, there is no immediate need to set a password. Instead, a link for setting the password will be automatically emailed to the customer. This provides a convenient way to onboard customers.

info

A set password email is sent only if both redirectUrl and channel are provided in the customerCreate mutation and the relevant plugin or app is subscribed to the correct event.

Updating Customer Data​

If your storefront does not expose profile editing, staff users or apps can update customer data through the Dashboard or the API:

  • Dashboard: Edit customer details (name, email, addresses, etc.) directly in the Customers section.
  • API: Use the customerUpdate mutation to update details programmatically.

Delete a Customer​

  • Dashboard: Staff users can remove customer directly in the Customers section.
  • API: Use the customerDelete mutation.

Deleting a customer does not remove their orders or related records. Order history and associated data remain in the system even after the customer account is deleted.

Migrating Customers to Saleor​

If you are migrating an existing store to Saleor and need to import your existing customers:

Create Customers via API​

For each customer, run the customerCreate mutation. You can't directly transfer password hashes, you need to allow customers to set their passwords. To send password-setup emails, include both the redirectUrl and channel parameters in the mutation. Ensure that the relevant plugin or app for sending customer emails is enabled.

Using Identity Provider​

If you use an identity provider (IdP) for login, customer accounts will be automatically created or linked in Saleor the first time users sign in via the configured IdP. The OIDC plugin stores the IdP’s authorization key in the customer’s private metadata.

Learn how to set up the OIDC plugin in the OIDC guide.

info

All anonymous orders placed using a given email address will be automatically linked to the corresponding customer account after the user logs in.

Extending Customers with Metadata​

Saleor allows you to attach custom metadata to customer accounts, enabling integrations with external systems or adding custom fields.

You can manage customer metadata using either the Dashboard or the API:

  • Dashboard:
    Staff users can view, add, or edit customer metadata directly in the Customers section of the Dashboard, within the customer details view.

  • API:

    • To set or update metadata when updating a customer, include the metadata or privateMetadata fields in the customerUpdate mutation.
    • For more granular control, use the dedicated metadata mutations:

Exporting Customer Data​

Saleor does not provide CSV exports by default. You must implement this yourself.

To export customer data (e.g., for analytics or GDPR):

  • Use the customers query to fetch customers.
  • Include fields like name, email, and metadata.
  • Automate extraction with scripts calling Saleor’s GraphQL API.