Guide · Customers import

Customers

A customer is identified by email, so you rarely need BigCommerce ids — which also means a file exported from one store can be imported into another. One column in this file can send email; it is the first thing on this page.

Commands

Command	Description	Behaviour
NEW	Create a new customer.	Fails if a customer with the same email already exists.
UPDATE	Update an existing customer.	Uses `Customer ID` if given, otherwise finds them by email. Fails if there is none.
MERGE	Create or update.	The default. Updates the customer if the email exists, creates them otherwise.
DELETE	Delete a customer.	Uses `Customer ID` if given, otherwise finds them by email.
REPLACE	Refused for customers.	Fails the row. Re-creating a customer would give them a new id and detach their order history. Use UPDATE.
IGNORE	Skip this row.	Does nothing, and is recorded as skipped rather than as a success.

Customer columns

CSV column	Required	Description
`Command`	Optional	NEW \| MERGE \| UPDATE \| DELETE \| IGNORE. Default MERGE.
`Customer ID`	Optional	BigCommerce customer id. Give it for UPDATE or DELETE and no lookup is needed.
`Email`	Required	The customer's email. BigCommerce keeps it unique, which is why it identifies the customer. Not required if you give a `Customer ID`.
`First Name`	Conditional	Given name. Becomes required as soon as the row carries an address: BigCommerce refuses an address with no name, and the address inherits the customer's. Fill this and `Last Name`, or give `Address First Name` and `Address Last Name` instead.
`Last Name`	Conditional	Family name. Same rule as `First Name` — required once the row carries an address.
`Company`	Optional	Company name.
`Phone`	Optional	Phone number.
`Notes`	Optional	Internal notes, not shown to the customer.
`Customer Group ID`	Optional	BigCommerce group id. Only useful within one store, since ids differ between stores.
`Customer Group`	Optional	The group named instead of numbered — resolved for you, and portable between stores. `Customer Group ID` wins if you give both.
`Tax Exempt Category`	Optional	Tax exemption code, if your store uses them.
`Accepts Marketing`	Optional	true or false — whether they accept product review and abandoned cart emails.
`Force Password Reset`	Optional	true makes BigCommerce email the customer a password reset. Leave it out unless that is what you want.
`Attribute: name`	Optional	One column per custom attribute, e.g. "Attribute: loyalty tier". The attribute is created for you if your store does not have it yet.
`Attribute Command`	Optional	MERGE (default) adds and updates the listed attributes; DELETE clears just those; REPLACE makes the listed ones the only ones.

Address columns

A row carries one address. Leave every address column blank if the row is only about the customer; fill them and the address is added or updated.

CSV column	Required	Description
`Address Line 1`	Required	Street address. Required if the row describes an address at all.
`City`	Required	City.
`Country Code`	Required	Two-letter country code, e.g. VN, US, GB.
`Address Line 2`	Optional	Apartment, suite, and so on.
`State`	Optional	State or province.
`Postal Code`	Optional	Postal or ZIP code. Used together with the street line to recognise an address you have imported before.
`Address First Name`	Optional	Name on the address. Falls back to the customer's own first name.
`Address Last Name`	Optional	Falls back to the customer's own last name.
`Address Company`	Optional	Company on the address.
`Address Phone`	Optional	Phone for this address.
`Address Type`	Optional	residential or commercial.

Example file

Command,Email,First Name,Last Name,Company,Customer Group,Address Line 1,City,State,Postal Code,Country Code,Attribute: loyalty tier
MERGE,ann@example.com,Ann,Nguyen,Forix Co,Wholesale,1 Le Loi,Hanoi,Hanoi,100000,VN,gold
MERGE,ben@example.com,Ben,Tran,,Retail,22 Tran Phu,Hue,Hue,530000,VN,silver
MERGE,ben@example.com,,,,,9 Nguyen Hue,Da Nang,Da Nang,550000,VN,
UPDATE,ann@example.com,,,Forix Group,,,,,,,
DELETE,old@example.com,,,,,,,,,,

The third row gives Ben a second address: repeat the email and fill only the address columns.

Things worth knowing

Several addresses per customer. Repeat the email on another row and fill only the address columns. An address is recognised by its street line and postal code, so re-importing the same file updates the address instead of adding a copy.
Addresses need a name. BigCommerce will not store a nameless address, so if you do not give Address First Name and Address Last Name the customer's own name is used. Give neither and the row fails, saying which columns to fill.
Groups by name. Import your customer groups first, then put customers in them with Customer Group. A name that does not exist fails the row rather than quietly leaving the customer ungrouped.
Attributes are created for you. A column like Attribute: loyalty tier defines the attribute in your store the first time it is seen, then sets it per customer.
Blank cells never overwrite. A column you leave out, or leave empty, is not sent; a cell holding only spaces counts as empty.
Check before you run. The file check flags any column that would be ignored, and a dry run previews every row — including any that would send an email — without writing anything.