Connecting Shopify

View customer orders, process refunds, and cancel orders directly from your HelpLane inbox. Plus, embed the chat widget on your Shopify store with automatic customer identification.

What the Shopify Integration Does

• View customer order history in the conversation sidebar
• See order details including line items, fulfillment status, and tracking
• Process line-item refunds with restocking options
• Cancel orders with reason codes and customer notifications
• Embed live chat on your Shopify store
• Automatically identify logged-in Shopify customers

Setting Up Shopify

Option 1: Install from Shopify App Store

• Visit the Shopify App Store and search for "HelpLane"
• Click Install on the HelpLane app
• Authorize the app to access your store data
• Log in to your HelpLane account (or create one if needed)
• The integration is automatically connected

Option 2: Connect from HelpLane Settings

• Go to Settings in the left sidebar
• Select Integrations
• Select the brand you want to connect Shopify to (each brand can have its own Shopify store)
• Find Shopify in the Apps section
• Click Connect
• Enter your Shopify store domain (e.g., your-store.myshopify.com)
• Authorize HelpLane on Shopify's consent screen
• You'll be redirected back to HelpLane with the integration connected

Note: Shopify is connected per brand. If you have multiple brands, you can connect a different Shopify store to each one.

Viewing Customer Data

When a conversation is open:

• Look for the Shopify orders panel in the right sidebar
• If the customer's email matches a Shopify customer, you'll see:
• Customer name
• Total orders and lifetime spending
• Email verification and marketing consent status
• Link to view customer in Shopify admin

Order History

The sidebar shows recent orders with:

• Order number (e.g., #1001)
• Financial status (paid, refunded, pending)
• Fulfillment status (fulfilled, unfulfilled, partial)
• Order total and currency
• Order date

Click any order to expand and see:

• Line items with product images
• Variant details and SKUs
• Quantities and prices
• Fulfillment tracking information
• Refund history

Processing Refunds

To issue a refund:

• Expand the order you want to refund
• Click Issue refund or use the order menu
• Select which items to refund by checking the boxes
• Adjust quantities if needed (for partial refunds)
• Toggle Restock for each item to return inventory
• Add an optional note explaining the refund
• Choose whether to notify the customer by email
• Click Issue refund

The refund is processed immediately in Shopify.

Cancelling Orders

To cancel an order:

• Find an unfulfilled order in the sidebar
• Click the menu icon and select Cancel order
• Select a cancellation reason:
• Customer request
• Out of stock
• Fraud
• Payment declined
• Other
• Choose whether to send a cancellation email
• Toggle whether to restock inventory
• Click Cancel order

Note: You can only cancel orders that haven't been fulfilled.

Embedding the Chat Widget

Add live chat to your Shopify storefront:

Step 1: Get Your Brand Token

• In HelpLane, go to Settings > Widget
• Copy your Brand Token

Step 2: Enable the Widget in Shopify

• In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes
• Click Customize on your active theme
• Click App embeds in the left sidebar
• Enable HelpLane Chat
• Paste your Brand Token
• Click Save

Automatic Customer Identification

When customers are logged into your Shopify store:

• Their email and name are automatically passed to HelpLane
• You'll see their order history immediately when they start a chat
• No need for customers to re-enter their information

Guest visitors can still use the chat widget and provide their details if they choose.

How Customer Matching Works

HelpLane matches conversations to Shopify customers by email address:

• When you open a conversation, HelpLane checks the contact's email
• It searches your Shopify store for a customer with that email
• If found, customer and order data are fetched and displayed

Note: The contact must have an email address set for matching to work.

Permissions Required

The Shopify integration requires these permissions:

• read_customers: Find customers by email
• read_orders: View order history
• write_orders: Process refunds and cancellations
• read_products: Display product information
• read_fulfillments: Show shipping and tracking status

Troubleshooting

No Shopify data appearing

• Verify the integration is connected for the correct brand in Settings > Integrations
• Check that the contact has an email address
• Confirm a customer with that email exists in Shopify
• Try clicking the refresh button on the Shopify panel

Refund failed

• Check that the order hasn't already been fully refunded
• Verify you have write_orders permission
• Ensure the refund amount doesn't exceed the original payment
• Check Shopify admin for more details on the error

Widget not appearing on store

• Confirm the HelpLane Chat app embed is enabled in theme settings
• Verify the Brand Token is entered correctly
• Check your browser console for any script errors
• Ensure no Content Security Policy is blocking the widget

Customer not being identified

• The customer must be logged into your Shopify store
• Check that the customer has an email address in Shopify
• Verify the widget is loading correctly (check browser console)