What Is Order History? A Guide for Businesses and Customers in 2025

Order history is the complete record of a customer’s past purchases—what they bought, when, and how they paid. For customers, it offers transparency, easier tracking, and faster reorders. But for retailers, it’s like a cheat sheet that reveals buying patterns and informs smarter decisions.

Yet, many retailers overlook this tool in favor of chasing shiny new sales tactics. Research shows retailers who make data-driven decisions see twice the growth and four times the profitability. By analyzing order history, you’re not guessing—you’re doubling down on what's already working.

Ahead, learn how to evaluate your order history data and turn it into actionable insights for better decision-making.

What is order history? 

Your order history is a list of all the orders you’ve received from customers in the past. It includes the specific items they purchased, their cost, when they bought the products, and how the orders were fulfilled.

What information is included in an order history?

Each ecommerce platform records slightly different information. For example, Shopify records every purchase and creates a timeline with a mix of transactional, fulfillment, and customer data: 

• Customer profile: Name, email, phone number, billing and shipping addresses, and market consent flags 
• Product line items: SKU, variant, quantity, item-level discounts, and taxability
• Financial snapshot: Subtotal, shipping, taxes, promotions, payment gateway, and net total
• Fulfillment trail: Warehouse or store location, carrier, tracking links, and time-stamped status changes 

This order information is logged automatically in the admin and can be exported via CSV. Having a full view of each order can be useful for faster reconciliation, customer support, or safeguarding data during a store migration. 

Understanding order status

Order status gives customers and retailers a clear view of where a purchase currently exists in the supply chain. It helps track order progress and quickly identifies orders that need assistance. 

Shopify organizes order history into four status categories: Order, Payment, Fulfillment, and Return. The groups appear together on the Orders page and can be filtered in combination to identify priority tasks. 

For example, you might filter for “open + paid + unfulfilled” to display orders that are ready to pick and pack, or “open + return requested” to fast-track returns. 

Here are the statuses you’ll find in your Shopify admin:

Order status: Tracks if an order is open, completed, or canceled

• Open: Order placed or created; still needs payment capture, fulfillment, or returns work.
• Archived: All work finished and the record is stored for reference.
• Canceled: Order stopped. If not fully refunded, further action may be required.

Payment status: Shows if payment is pending, captured, or refunded

• Pending: Payment provider is processing; funds not guaranteed yet.
• Authorized: Card validated. Capture funds before the authorization period ends.
• Due / Expired / Unpaid: Capture deadline passed or terms overdue, collect or cancel.
• Paid: Funds captured (auto or manual). Ready for fulfillment.
• Partially paid / Partially refunded / Refunded / Voided: Money captured or returned in part or full, update inventory and records as needed.

Fulfillment status: Indicates whether items are packed and shipped

• Unfulfilled: Items still waiting to be picked and packed.
• Partially fulfilled: Some items shipped, others pending.
• Fulfilled: All items handed to the carrier.
• Scheduled: Prepaid subscription order awaiting its future ship date.
• On hold: Manual or upsell-related hold; inventory reserved but not yet shippable.

Return status: Follows the progress of customer returns 

• Return requested: Customer asked to send items back; approve or decline.
• Return in progress: Goods en route. Restock or refund upon receipt.
• Returned: Process complete, no further action.
• Inspection complete: Items checked; decide on refund based on results.

These statuses not only help you manage workflows but can also keep customers informed and confident in their purchase.

Why is order history important for customers?

Customers want transparency when it comes to past and current orders. A 2024 logistics survey found that 90% of customers expect to track every delivery event, and 80% want to receive delivery status updates. 

With order history, customers can effortlessly track shipments, reduce “where is my order” anxiety, and reorder past favorites. Logged-in shoppers on a Shopify storefront can also see personalized product picks or quick reorder buttons based on their purchase history. 

It also lets customers simplify returns without hunting through email receipts. When a product doesn’t meet their expectations, most brands let them initiate returns with just one click. 

Overall, providing detailed order history builds trust. It shows customers you care about a positive customer experience even beyond the transaction, which helps strengthen long-term loyalty. It also lightens the load on customer service teams, since shoppers can answer many of their own questions directly through their order history.

How to view and analyze order history in Shopify

Using unified data from Shopify POS

A point-of-sale (POS) system records every in-store transaction. Unified platforms like Shopify POS take this one step further by bringing together orders from every sales channel. Whether you’ve sold a product in your retail store, through a marketplace, or via your online store, order data feeds back to one centralized management system. 

To find this order history, head to the Orders tab in your Shopify dashboard. From there, filter or browse order history by individual customer, SKU, or date range to spot trends or answer specific questions.

Shopify also lets you tag and add notes to open orders, view an order’s timeline, follow up with customers, and more easily and effectively manage your orders.

Analyzing order history for insights

Dates

Analyze order history by month or year to identify peak seasons and slow periods. For example, if beachwear sales spike in May and June, you can stock up earlier in the year and launch marketing campaigns in early spring. 

If October sees minimal activity, plan clearance sales for August. You could also introduce complementary products (like resort wear) or focus on preseason promotions to maintain cash flow during slower seasons. 

Products

Monitor your order history to identify bestsellers, underperforming items, and common purchase combinations. These insights help you offer the right products to the right people. They can also inform how you organize your store (or your website), so that products frequently purchased together are displayed together. 

For example, your coffee shop's sales data might reveal that medium roast consistently outsells other varieties while the dark roast struggles. Based on this insight, you could adjust your inventory to stock more and strategically place complementary items (like coffee filters and grinders) nearby to boost overall sales.

Customers

Your customers' shopping habits paint a picture of who they are and what motivates them to buy. Analyze their purchase patterns to identify buying preferences, peak shopping times, and repeat purchase rates. This order data can shape loyalty programs, promotional timing, and fuel targeted marketing campaigns to maximize customer retention and lifetime value.

Clienteling and unified commerce insights

Shopify POS connects your inventory, sales, and customer data across every channel. Its unified commerce system centralizes this data—including order information from accelerated checkouts like Shop Pay. This integration provides valuable insights into how customers prefer to pay and complete their purchases, whether through traditional methods or convenient options like Shop Pay Installments.

You can quickly pull up key information at checkout, like customer purchase history and preferences. Then, clienteling tools integrated with Shopify customer profiles let you offer customized recommendations and personalized experiences, while Shop Pay’s flexibility can help increase average order value (AOV) and conversion rates.

💡Take advantage: Research from a leading independent consulting firm found that retailers using Shopify POS see sales grow by 8.9% on average.

How to boost sales using order history

You can look at the order history for your store and use that data for marketing purposes, too. Here are some ideas you can try once you use your POS to understand sales trends.

1. Upsell and make specific recommendations

Use customers’ order history data to make informed product recommendations grounded in what they’ve already bought. 

Let’s say you filter order history by a specific product: in this case, maybe it’s a white bridesmaid dress. Identify the customers who bought the dress, then send them a follow-up email featuring coordinating shoes or accessories. You can also offer a targeted incentive for the related item to lift conversion.

Product recommendation apps like ReConvert and Selleasy make it easy to show your customers the perfect product pairings right when they're most excited about their purchase. 

These AI-powered tools integrate with your Shopify customer data and can suggest relevant made-to-match items that will turn a customer’s purchase into something they’ll love.

2. Create personalized marketing messages

Order history makes personalization easier, one customer at a time. Instead of sending generic emails to your entire list, you can tailor your marketing messages based on purchases. 

Again, it’s all about trends: review a repeat customer’s order details to know when they make purchases, what they buy, and how often they shop with you.

Use Shopify’s dynamic segmentation tools to group customers by shared behaviors, then send campaigns that are highly relevant to their interests. This kind of attention to detail leaves them feeling more satisfied and highly valued, encourages brand loyalty, and increases customer lifetime value (CLV).

For example:

• Send timely replenishment reminders based on typical buying cycles—with a small gift or coupon to encourage a bigger sale in the future.
• Offer exclusive deals that only “top customers” receive to reward loyalty.
• Set up automated welcome campaigns for new customers with tailored product suggestions based on their first purchase.
• Create win-back campaigns with time-limited discounts for lapsed customers.
• Align seasonal promotions with geographic data and past purchase patterns for higher engagement.
• Create a streamlined checkout experience for repeat customers with Shop Pay, which saves their preferences, shipping details, and payment information.
• Develop strategic cart abandonment campaigns that address common purchase barriers with personalized solutions.
• Launch birthday and anniversary campaigns that celebrate customer milestones with special rewards to create emotional connections with your brand.

“We identified the segment in Shopify, created a discount, communicated with them in a way that was very personalized, and we saw about 30% of those people convert,” says Alex Dashefsky, cofounder of Airsign.

3. Target your promotions and advertisements

Order history can guide your advertising. By using customer demographic data and purchase trends, you can target audiences with more relevant promotions on paid social advertisements. If you know you have a bestselling item that everyone wants around Mother’s Day, for example, an ad you create and run in April and early May will likely get more traction than an ad you run for the same item in September.

Retail media networks like Shopify Audiences can help you find high-intent buyers and optimize your advertising performance across platforms. They use first-party data to reach relevant customers at scale and lower acquisition costs.

Take ecommerce furniture brand Nathan James. The company struggled with marketing inefficiencies due to a lack of ad attribution and targeting. Expanding to a 10% lookalike audience saved money on costs, but drove low-intent buyers, resulting in lower click-through rates (CTR), higher customer acquisition costs (CAC), and cutting return on ad spend (ROAS). 

After switching to Shopify Audiences, Nathan James leveraged precise targeting to:

• More than double purchase rates
• Lower customer acquisition costs by 52%
• Drive a 176% increase in conversion ratios
• Generate over $100,000 in incremental revenue 

4. Send thank you notes

In the rush to ring up the next sale, you may forget to appreciate customers for purchasing something from you and for their loyalty. Nothing builds that relationship like saying “thank you” at the right time in an unexpected or personal way. 

Use direct mail to send a handwritten note expressing your appreciation for their business, or send a swag bag filled with a few branded goodies. For example, a beauty retailer might send personalized skincare recommendations and samples with a thank you note after a customer's third purchase.

Sending handwritten notes with every order isn’t scalable, but you can combine automated thank you messages through email and SMS. Reserve handwritten notes for milestone purchases or key customers to maximize efficiency while maintaining authentic connections.

5. Reduce stockouts 

Order history serves as a blueprint for inventory decisions. Instead of guessing, you can make informed choices based on data and trends.

That includes keeping accurate inventory, even during your busiest periods. Maintaining stocked shelves means you don’t run out of stock and miss out on sales opportunities—and you keep customers happy.

Knowing what sells well and creating promotions to feature those items in-store and online encourages even more sales. On the flip side, you can discontinue the products that take up shelf space but aren’t popular with customers.

💡Pro tip: The Stocky app for Shopify POS can help you manage inventory and prevent stockouts. Generate reports to find out your optimal stock levels for each SKU, then have the app automatically raise purchase orders with the relevant supplier when quantities dip below your threshold.

Making the most of order history data 

Order history is more than a record of past purchases—it’s a guide for building trust with customers, planning inventory, and creating personalized marketing. When you use it well, you can reduce uncertainty, strengthen loyalty, and grow sales with less guesswork.

To put these insights into action, you’ll need a system that unifies data across channels. Shopify POS brings together order data from every sales channel—including your retail stores, ecommerce websites, marketplaces, and social media storefronts—to give the full picture of who’s buying what.