Shopify Customer Detection in Direct Messages

How does Shopify customer detection work?

When a customer sends a direct message containing an email address or order number that matches a Shopify record, BrandBastion displays a suggested customer match.

The suggestion helps the agent confirm the correct Shopify customer before linking the social profile.

📌 Note: A detected match is a suggestion. The customer is not linked automatically.

What order number formats can be detected?

BrandBastion recognizes order numbers written in common formats, including:

order 12345
order #12345
order number 12345
order no. 12345
order ID 12345
order: 12345
order is 12345
purchase #12345
My order number is 12345
The purchase #98765 was delayed

The word “order” or “purchase” on its own does not trigger a match. The message must include an identifiable number.

What happens after a customer is linked?

Once an agent links a social profile to a Shopify customer:

Future DMs from that social profile use the linked customer record
BrandBastion stops searching for new customer matches for that profile
References to different order numbers do not replace or relink the customer

Example

A customer sends: order #1006
BrandBastion suggests Order #1006, Jessica Smith
The agent links the profile to Jessica Smith
The customer later sends: order #2008
No new suggestion appears because the profile is already linked

Shopify data associated with Jessica Smith remains available for supported workflows, including reply generation.

What happens when the customer has not been linked yet?

Until the agent confirms a match, BrandBastion can update the suggestion when a new Shopify match is detected.

A new valid match replaces the previous suggestion

For example:

The customer sends: order #1006
BrandBastion suggests Order #1006, Jessica Smith
The customer later sends: order #2008
Order #2008 matches Bob in Shopify
The suggestion updates to Order #2008, Bob

An unmatched order does not remove the previous suggestion

For example:

The customer sends: order #1006
BrandBastion suggests Order #1006, Jessica Smith
The customer later sends: order #9999
No matching Shopify order is found
The previous suggestion remains visible

Only the latest valid suggestion is retained.

Are suggestions linked to a message or a social profile?

Suggestions are associated with the social user profile, not an individual message.

This means:

The same current suggestion can appear across multiple conversations from the same user (comments, DMs, mentions, etc.)
Multiple reply modals for that profile can display the same suggestion
Linking the customer applies to the social profile across its conversations