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Version: 4.1

Customer and User

CoreShop distinguishes between two entities when it comes to customer data management: Customer and User. Understanding the difference between these two is crucial for effectively managing customer information and authentication.

Distinction Between Customer and User​

  • User: The User entity in CoreShop is primarily concerned with authentication. It encompasses login credentials, including the login identifier (such as an email address or username) and the password.

  • Customer: The Customer entity, on the other hand, represents the actual customer profile. This includes details such as contact information, shipping and billing addresses, and order history.

Guest Customers​

In scenarios where a Customer does not have an associated User entity, they are considered a 'Guest Customer'. This means they cannot log in to the system.

Handling Guest Customers in Checkout​

During the checkout process, CoreShop can identify existing Guest Customers based on their email address. If a match is found, CoreShop uses the existing Customer Object. This approach has several benefits:

  • Order Tracking: Allows for the tracking of orders placed by guest customers.
  • Conversion Opportunity: Provides an opportunity to later convert guest orders into full customer profiles, enhancing customer relationship management.

By maintaining separate User and Customer entities, CoreShop offers a flexible framework to cater to both registered and guest customers, while keeping authentication and customer data management distinct yet integrated.