Already have a database of customers outside of Shopify or Customer Fields? No problem!
This help article explores how to combine all your customer data into the Customer Fields app to improve organization and make your life easier. We’ve designed a simple & efficient way to import customers from a CSV file, so you can spend less time messing with spreadsheets and more time serving your customers.
Import guide
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use the app's import tool:
Step 1: Set up data columns in the app
First and foremost, make sure to set up your desired data columns in the Customer Fields app. You can do this by adding new fields to a form using the app's form builder, or by creating data columns using the app's Data columns page. (You can read more about data columns using this help article)
Make sure that a data column exists in the app for all of the pieces of data you want to import. It’s important that you’ve successfully set up all your desired data columns in the app before you begin the import process.
Step 2: Prepare the CSV file
Examine the CSV file you will be importing, so you can remove any anomalies and fix any mistakes and/or poorly formatted data.
Make sure that the first row of each column represents a data column name (e.g. First name, Last name, Email, etc.). Please note that the app's CSV tool requires a unique email to be assigned to each customer, so make sure you have at least one column in the CSV that includes the customer's email address.
Pro-tip: You can download an example CSV file using the button below:
Note: If you have over 10,000 rows in the CSV we suggest splitting the CSV into separate files. You can technically upload a CSV with more than 10k lines, but it might be a good idea to split up the CSV into multiple files to reduce the time it takes to process each import.
Step 3: Upload the CSV file and map the columns
To upload the CSV, go to the Customers page in the app admin. At the top of this page, you will see buttons for 'Import' and 'Export'. Click the 'Import' button to begin the process.
Select the CSV file from your computer using the popup that appears, and click the 'Upload' button to continue.
After the file has been uploaded, you'll need to map the columns from the CSV to the relevant data columns you've set up in the app. The app will try to automatically map fields based on the column names, but you are welcome to adjust the mapping if needed.
Make sure to skip any columns from the CSV that you’d like to ignore, and double-check that every desired column from the file is matched to a data column in the app.
Once you've finished mapping, click the 'IMPORT CUSTOMERS' button and the importing process will begin. Keep in mind that the amount of time needed for the import to complete is dependent on the number of customers & data columns that are being processed.
Step 4: Sit back and relax 😎
The app's import tool is designed to run in the background, so you are free to continue work in other areas of the app if needed.
You will find a status bar on the Customers page in the app admin which will show progress during the import process. You can click on the link in the status bar to see more details/stats about the data being processed.
Once the import is complete, the status bar will indicate that the import has finished. Just like before, you can click the link on the status bar to see details/stats on all of the data that was processed.
Updating existing customers
It's important to understand that existing customer records will be automatically updated using the customer's email address as the unique identifier. This means that if you upload a CSV file that contains an email address that is already on file for an existing customer, then the data for that existing customer record will be updated.
If you do not wish to overwrite a certain piece of data for existing customers, then make sure that you "skip" that particular column when mapping the CSV file.
Important notes
The app's CSV import tool does not work with
group_list
data columns (or their children).If you exceed your store's quota limit for managed customers during the import, then a portion of the new customers from the CSV will not be imported.
Have questions, or need help?
If you need help, feel free to drop us an email anytime at support+cf@heliumdev.com and we’ll be happy to assist.